2006-07 News Archives
The Princeton men's volleyball team made a bad day for the St.
Francis men's volleyball team even worse. After a nine-hour bus
ride, courtesy of the winter storm and troubles on the Pennsylvania
Turnpike, the Tigers rallied for key wins in the first two games of
a 3-0 EIVA Tait win over the Red Flash. Mike Vincent led Princeton
with 12 kills, and his service run in the middle game was the key
point of the match.
Vincent was one of three Princeton players with double-digit kills,
as both Peter Eichler and Reid Joseph chipped in with 11 kills
apiece. Senior middle Evan Pasion had seven kills in 11 swings for
a .636 attack percentage, and sophomore setter Brandon Denham led
the Tigers with 42 assists and seven digs. Princeton continued to
serve well, hitting nine aces, including four from Vincent.
Princeton trailed 19-14 in the opening game, but it went
on a 7-2 run off the serving of Vincent and Denham. Back-to-back
aces by Eichler put Princeton ahead, and a pair of blocks from
Denham and Vincent helped Princeton open a sizable lead that it
would never relinquish in a 30-26 win. The Red Flash came out
strong in the second game and never let the Tigers get an
early run of points. St. Francis maintained a lead, albeit a slim
one, until three straight kills by Vincent pushed the Tigers back
even at 22 apiece. When he was moved off the net in the
rotation, he simply did his work from the service line. With
the score tied at 25, Vincent served a 4-0 run, which included
three aces, two of which were never touched by a Red Flash player.
A kill by Pasion ended the 30-26 win and gave Princeton a
significant 2-0 lead.
The third game stayed close until the midway point, when the
Red Flash ran out of gas and the Tigers took advantage. With
the score tied at 18, Princeton went on a 12-3 run to close both
the game and the match. The critical 7-0 run came on Denham
serves and featured a blend of Princeton kills and St. Francis
miscues. The talented and gutsy St. Francis
squad, which reached the 2006 EIVA final, simply couldn't
make one last run against a Princeton team that played arguably its
best match of the season.
Princeton is now 7-6, 5-3 in the Tait Division. Five teams all have
three Tait Division losses, meaning the last month will
determine the difference between a bye to the EIVA semifinals (for
the second-place team) and a four-match road to the league title
(for the fifth- and sixth-place teams). Two of those squads
will face off at Dillon Gym tomorrow, when 5-3 Princeton hosts
3-3 Juniata at 4:00 in Dillon Gym. Juniata picked up a 3-2
home win over Princeton earlier in the season.
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The Princeton men's volleyball team knew a home sweep would go a
long way to securing at least one EIVA postseason bye, and it also
knew that win would have to be earned against a gritty Juniata
squad. After watching a big lead evaporate in the third game, the
Tigers rallied to earn that win with a thrilling 15-13 victory in a
tense fifth game.
The Tigers, who dropped a 3-2 decision at Juniata in the EIVA
opener, improved to 8-6, 6-3 in the league, with a 30-26, 20-30,
37-35, 30-28, 15-13 win over the Eagles. Juniata fell to 9-5
overall, 4-4 in divisional play. The win keeps Princeton in second
place; the top two teams in the league earn double byes and go
straight to the EIVA semifinals.
Sophomore middle Mike Vincent led Princeton with 17
kills, seven assisted blocks, two aces and a .355 attack
percentage, while junior captain Peter Eichler added 14 kills and
13 digs for the Tigers. Both Phillip Rosenberg and Reid Joseph
added 10 kills, while sophomore setter Brandon Denham had 57
assists.
After splitting the first two games, Princeton was on the verge of
a 2-1 advantage with a 29-25 edge in the third game. Errant play by
Princeton, including a pair of missed attacks, helped Juniata to
even the score at 29. Both teams served multiple game balls, but it
wasn't until consecutive kills by Nate Ocasio, who led all players
with 27 kills, that the Eagles celebrated an emotional 37-35 win.
It was then that Princeton desperately needed to regroup.
"Juniata is always tough," Eichler said. "We lost to them in five
at their place, and after that game, we just said it can't happen
again tonight. Not here."
Needing a quick start in the fourth game, Princeton built an early
13-4 lead. Juniata chipped away with small runs here and there, and
eventually tied the score at 23 on a kill by Glenn DeHaven. A
Juniata service error and two kills by Eichler earned
Princeton a 26-23 lead, and an attack error on game ball gave the
Tigers a 30-28 win.
Princeton got out early in the fifth game, building leads of 8-5
and 12-8 before serving game ball at 14-10. A Juniata
kill, block and service ace got the Eagles to within one
point, but Joseph killed the final ball on a perfect Denham set to
clinch the win.
"To sweep this weekend was huge for us," Eichler said a day
after Princeton swept 2006 EIVA finalist St. Francis 3-0.
"Three teams were tied for second coming into the weekend, so
it was crucial for us to get these matches."
"The guys definitely believe," head coach Glenn Nelson added.
"But it's one thing to believe. It's another to hit your jump
serves. Look at Vincent, he makes a couple of runs in the
final two games on those jump serves. If he misses them, we might
lose. We had our serves going early, then started missing them in
the middle games. We got them back when we needed it."