BRISTOL, R.I.--Wednesday was a night of firsts for the Harvard men's volleyball team. Unfortunately, all the firsts were of the negative variety.

Harvard (6-2, 4-1 EIVA) lost to Roger Williams (13-6, 4-3) in three straight games (8-15, 11-15, 13-15). This was the first league loss for the Crimson, its first road loss, and its first loss by a sweep this season.

Harvard was unable to play its full roster in Rhode Island. Both sophomore outside hitter Isaac Chen and freshman middle blocker Alex Kowell were kept out of the match by ankle injuries. In addition, sophomore middle blocker Justin Denham played despite a sore back.

"Volleyball is a pounding sport," junior co-captain Justin Micomonaco said, "When we're not playing we live in the training room."

After an interesting rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, the first game got underway and the wear and tear of the last few weeks was readily apparent.

The Hawks jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, taking advantage of the Crimson's sluggish floor defense.

"It was obvious from the first few points that it was going to be an uphill battle all night," co-captain Ed Pankau said.

Harvard, which was plagued by an inconsistent defense, also suffered from an anemic offense that was not able to put up points as readily as it was in earlier games.