The Eagles (7-4, 2-1 NAIA) began with back-to-back 3-0 runs, raced to a .545 hitting efficiency, and finished the game with a tidy 25-17 victory.

“We sometimes are just slow to start,” Clemens said. “We had a couple dumb mistakes early on that shouldn’t have happened.”

But thanks to a Clemens-heavy offense and a block-heavy defense, the Crimson steadied itself, taking the next three sets and grabbing a 3-1 victory.

The comeback was finalized in the final set when Harvard used a 5-1 run to erase an early-frame deficit. After breaking through a 9-9 deadlock, the Crimson never relinquished the lead, finishing the 25-19 set win with a Clemens kill.

“He’s definitely hot right now,” Baise said. “He’s been great on offense and has bailed us out of a lot of tough situations with some key kills at key moments.... Those are big contributions, and he’s been a difference maker for us.”

Despite the offensive numbers, the Harvard defense may have been the star of the game as the Crimson earned 24 blocks, including a season-high eight from co-captain and middle blocker Caleb Zimmick.

In the middle two sets, Zimmick won five points on rejections. Harvard pulled away late in both games, turning mid-frame deadlocks into 25-21 and 25-19 triumphs.

“We started to block well,” Baise said.  “We’ve been working a lot on our defense, [and] that was the difference on Friday night.”