The teams traded points for the rest of the game, with neither team leading by more than three.

Ridolfi substituted Rapp in to serve with the score knotted at 30. But the move was to no avail, as consecutive kills by MIT closed out the frame, 32-30.

“We had been looking toward the St. Francis game as the biggest game of the season,” McKiernan said. “That getting cancelled kind of deflated us, and we had a long hiatus—we had too long of a rest. MIT was fired up in the first game and caught us off guard.”

Though the loss caused some bickering among the Crimson players, they managed to collect themselves for the second game.

The frame started off close, but Harvard took 12 of 19 points to push its lead to 22-15.

Although the Engineers went on a mini-streak of their own, the Crimson was able to hold off the MIT surge and escape with a 30-25 victory.

The third game tilted heavily in Harvard’s favor.

Led by Freese—who had five aces and 11 kills on the night—the Crimson went up by an 18-12 margin and coasted to a 30-19 win.

But the rout was just the calm before the storm, setting up the thrilling finish.

“The best thing [the players] did tonight is they kept their heads after losing the first game,” Ridolfi said. “I’m proud of the character they showed.”

–Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.