Harvard cancels rest of season due to coronavirus outbreak

Photo courtesy of Gil Talbot and Harvard athletics

The season is officially finished for Harvard.

The Crimson announced Wednesday that it canceled their seven remaining regular season matches and will not participate in the EIVA Tournament or NCAA Tournament because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Along with the men’s volleyball team, the athletics department canceled remaining events and any possible postseason opportunities for all spring sports teams. This decision comes on the same day that the Ivy League, Harvard’s conference for the majority of its sports, canceled all spring sporting events.

Harvard earlier this week canceled the men’s volleyball team’s upcoming three-match West Coast road trip because of the coronavirus.

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The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday that there are 938 confirmed cases of the coronavirus throughout th United States and 29 deaths because of the virus. That number has continued to increase in recent days.

The Crimson are the first team in the recent history of NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball to cancel all its remaining matches midway through the season.

Harvard finishes the season at 9-6 with victories against No. 11 Grand Canyon and the defending ConfCarolinas champions Barton. It is the first time since 2016 that the Crimson end the season with a winning record.

Among the seniors whose college careers have concluded following this season cancellation include All-EIVA libero Chase Howard and All-EIVA setter Matthew Ctvrtlik.

The Crimson at the time of this cancellation were in fifth place in the EIVA and one-match behind NJIT for the final spot to the four-team EIVA Tournament.

Harvard had remaining conference matches against Sacred Heart, Penn State, Saint Francis, Princeton, NJIT and a two-match series versus Charleston.