Princeton Prepares For Crucial Home Weekend In EIVA Play
PRINCETON, N.J. - Having played seven of its
first eight matches on the road, the Princeton men's volleyball
team will finally get to host a weekend of EIVA competition, as
Sacred Heart and Harvard will come to Dillon Gym this weekend.
Princeton currently shares third place in the EIVA with George
Mason, though it has already played more than half of its league
road matches. The Tigers split last weekend, which started with a
3-1 win over fifth-place Saint Francis. That win could prove
critical down the road, as only the league's top four will make the
playoffs.
The Tigers concluded the weekend with a competitive 3-1 road loss
at No. 9 Penn State, which included Princeton's first victorious
set in State College since 1998. Princeton nearly pushed the match
to five sets, though Penn State did finish the win 27-25 in the
fourth set.
Princeton got a big boost over the weekend from freshman outside
Devin Stearns, who had 27 kills with only six errors and added 17
digs and six blocks during the Tigers' road split. Stearns now
ranks third on the team in points per set, though junior Pat
Schwagler continues to lead the entire EIVA with 4.9 per set.
Head coach Sam Shweisky was also very pleased with the play from
junior setter Davis Waddell, who has helped Princeton hit a
respectable .270 on the season, the third-best total in the
league.
The top four teams in the EIVA (Penn State, Harvard, Princeton and
George Mason) are a combined 5-0 at home against each other. The
only team that has yet to face one of the others in its home gym is
Princeton, though that will change this weekend.
First up for the Tigers will be Sacred Heart in a Friday night
showdown (7 pm). The Pioneers are 2-9 overall, 1-5 in the EIVA,
though they did grab their first league win last weekend at
Rutgers-Newark. Brad Borsay led the team with 13 kills that night,
while Benjamin Thomas added 34 assists.
The 14th-ranked Harvard Crimson, which ended Penn State's run of
four straight unbeaten EIVA seasons, come to Dillon Saturday at 4
pm. The Crimson have won four straight in the series, and they are
led by D.J. White, who had 13 kills and hit .500 in Harvard's 3-0
home win over Penn State. Harvard is only a half-game out of first
place entering the weekend.
Story courtesy of Princeton








