Earlier this week, the Harvard men’s volleyball team (7-8, 0-3 EIVA) traveled to the West Coast to face California State Northridge (5-15), Pepperdine University (7-11), and the University of Southern California (15-1).

The Crimson had known going in that it was to face some stiff competition, as USC is currently ranked No. 1 in the country and Pepperdine is No. 13. Unsurprisingly, the road trip was tough on the Crimson, which lost all three matches and has now lost seven of its last eight.

Inconsistency has plagued the Crimson so far this year and is something that it hopes to improve upon going into EIVA play in the season's final stretch.

“Consisitency is where we struggle,” Harvard coach Brian Baise said. “When we play well, we can really compete with teams at any level. We tend to give up points and streaks that really hurt us. We can’t do that in second half of league play.”

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 3, HARVARD 1

What was perhaps the Crimson’s most impressive performance of the week came Wednesday night, when it faced the best men’s volleyball squad in the country: the Trojans of Southern California.

Though USC primarily played its backups throughout the match, Harvard was able to put together a solid performance and avoid a sweep. Ultimately, the Crimson fell by scores of 25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 25-16.

“[The match against USC] was our best match,” Baise said. “Our ball control was much better, our defense blocked well, and I’m happy with how we served. It was a great way to end the week.”

PEPPERDINE 3, HARVARD 0

A day prior, Harvard faced a daunting opponent in the Waves. Pepperdine did not take the Crimson lightly, as it played its top players throughout the match. Ultimately, Harvard fell to the No. 13 Waves, 25-14, 25-13, 25-15.

Pepperdine held a significant height advantage in Tuesday’s match. The Waves boast a roster containing six players who are as tall or taller than Harvard’s tallest player-freshman outside hitter Michael Owen, who stands at 6'7". Members of the Crimson pointed to the height disparity as a key factor in the match.

“They were physically dominant,” said freshman middle blocker Kyle Rehkemper. “Their size was just too much for us to handle with blocking.”

Rehkemper had a strong performance against the Waves, leading the Crimson with 10 kills and a .533 attack percentage. The freshman attributed his success to the speed of his play.

“I tried to be fast on the ball and beat the bigger guys that way, by being quicker than them,” Rehkemper said.

CALIFORNIA STATE NORTHRIDGE 3, HARVARD 0