The Crimson then went on to take eight consecutive points on Turley-Molony’s serve to establish a 23-17 margin. From there, Harvard would coast to a shocking 30-21 first-frame win.

Though the Eagles regained their form in the second game, the Crimson had the momentum on its side. The two teams traded points throughout the frame, with neither one being able to maintain a lead.

“We just wanted to win the rally points,” Weiss said. “And that allowed us to stay with them.”

At 28-28, an attack error by BC gave Harvard a game point. But the Eagles took the next three points to barely escape a two-frame deficit.

“We played really hard,” Mahon said, “but Boston College was just digging a lot of balls and getting a lot of kills.”

The Eagles took control of the third game, preventing Harvard from ever gaining the lead as they breezed to a 30-23 victory to move ahead 2-1 in the match. But the Crimson returned the favor in the following frame, never trailing in its 30-26 win.

Though Harvard then took a 5-2 lead to open the fifth game, the Eagles’ attack—led by 22 kills from junior outside hitter Dorota Niemczewska—rediscovered its rhythm and smashed its way to a 15-11 victory.

“It was a battle on both sides—it was closely fought throughout,” Cebron said. “But in the fifth game, they just pulled out the win.”

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.

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