Much of this burden will fall on the shoulders of freshman setter Rob Lothman, who has been having success as of late, averaging 50.3 assists per match over the past three contests.

But while the Crimson has been strategically preparing for its Friday contest, the team knows its second opponent, NYU, cannot be overlooked. Despite their winless conference record, the Violets are a dangerous team, having taken sets off of Princeton and Sacred Heart in recent contests.

“NYU always brings their best play for us,” Weintraub said. “I would argue that the NYU game is equally important if not more important [than the Rutgers-Newark game]. If we get to the playoffs we can do everything we want and more. Beating NYU is the first step to that.”

Harvard defeated the Violets earlier this season, taking the contest in four sets thanks to clutch play down the stretch from co-captain Erik Kuld. The win kick-started the team’s current winning streak.

The Crimson hopes it will have the services this weekend of its other co-captain, Weintraub, who paces Harvard with 2.17 kills and 6.88 assists per set. Weintraub sat out his team’s past two contests with a pulled groin.

According to the veteran, it is unclear which games, if any, he will be medically cleared for this weekend.

“[Having Weintraub play is] essential,” Jones said. “Obviously we can win either way but having Gil will help a lot. That’s an understatement.”

—Staff writer Martin Kessler can be reached at martin.kessler@college.harvard.edu