Herger's words turned out to be prophetic as the Crimson rallied to tie the score at 14. Then, tied at 16, the teams faced game point since there was a 17-point cap on scoring for the first four games.

Sophomore middle blocker Justin Denham came up huge with a monstrous block that sealed the 17-16 win for Harvard in the second game.

"JD's [Justin Denham] block to win the second game was the turning point of the match," Bookman said. "If we lost that game we could have probably been swept, but JD's big play gave us a much need boost."

With the momentum, Harvard poured on the offensive artillery and defensive pressure in the third game.

Junior outside hitter Brian Stevenson notched 12 kills for the match and powered the third game surge. Denham, who finished with eight blocks, led the defensive effort and Auden Velasquez had a massive contribution of 14 digs in the third game alone.

Harvard, with this newfound energy, comfortably won the third game 15-9.

With the Crimson up 2-1 in the match, Queens figured it had nothing to lose and came out firing with reckless abandon. Jump serving on almost every attempt, the Knights racked up five aces in the fourth game and thoroughly destroyed any Crimson momentum. Queens went on to handily win the fourth game, 15-3.

The Crimson season came down to the fifth and final game. After a long back-and-forth match, the winner would be the team that most wanted to advance in the playoffs and keep its season alive.