With the score tied at one game apiece, Harvard convincingly took the 2-1 lead. Holding an 8-7 lead, a kill by junior middle hitter Mariah Pospisil catalyzed a 10-2 Crimson run that helped Harvard cruise to a 30-22 victory.

“What I was really happy with was our energy,” Jellin said. “Most of us knew we could play this way. It’s good to play how we knew we could.”

A 30-27 loss in the fourth game set up the tiebreak.

The Crimson led 26-24, before a big kill by junior outside hitter Alyson Coler shifted the momentum to UNH. Coler, the Wildcats’ most effective weapon, posted a match-high 27 kills along with 13 digs.

The Crimson will next travel to the Northwestern Tournament in Evanston, Ill., where it will face-off against midwest programs Loyola-Chicago, DePaul and Northwestern.

“The mentality is to play the hard competition to get better,” Weiss said. “You’ve got to beat the best to be the best.”

—Staff writer Lande A. Spottswood can be reached at spottsw@fas.harvard.edu