No. 9 Penn State men's volleyball (3-6 overall) has lost only twice in the past 20 regular seasons in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.
Friday, Princeton looked to make it three times.
It didn't happen.
After a strong first game which Princeton (2-3) won, 15-12, the Tigers proceeded to drop the next three – 12-15, 8-15, 11-15 – losing by a score of 3-1.
Fatigue and conditioning were a factor in the loss for the Tigers, whose season is still young, coming off a long, hard match against Juniata Thursday night.
"We're still getting used to playing a lot, and with two big matches in a row, we were beat up," freshman outside Steve Cooper said.
Wrong play, wrong time
Key points did not go the Tigers' way, and errors came at the most inopportune times.
"We didn't play as well as we could've when we needed to," senior opposite Scott Birdwell said.
Overall, Princeton played a consistent match, but Penn State had that extra edge that turned the tide in its favor.
Essentially in their second season – Penn State also has a fall season – the Nittany Lions were on top of their game, finishing the match with a season-best .508 hitting percentage.
The first game, though, was all Princeton, which rattled off a string of points after the score had been tied at eight to take a 14-9 lead. Penn State was caught on its heels and lost the game, 15-12.
The second game was close, but the Nittany Lions rallied behind the stellar play of junior middle Brad Miller, who hammered down 13 of his career-high 31 kills over the course of Penn State's 15-12 win.
Wilting away
Princeton's star began to fade during the third game before rallying in the fourth. The Tigers hit for a dismal .200 percentage as Penn State picked up steam.
"They were getting into a rhythm, and we were slowing down," sophomore setter Jason Morrow said.
Princeton registered just 13 kills as a team during the third game, while Penn State put away 23 balls for a .500 hitting percentage.
"We need to get in a groove of playing games. We're all playing good volleyball, but need to get in a groove," Birdwell said.
Penn State, on the other hand, played as if on cruise control. Junior setter Daniel Pollock helped pace the Nittany Lions with a season-high 95 assists.
Princeton rebounded from its abysmal third game to come out well in the fourth, but not enough to swing Penn State's surging momentum, and the Nittany Lions closed out the match by a score of 15-11.
Friday's match highlighted some areas for improvement for the Tigers.
"We need to work on digging and blocking. We're siding-out fine, but not scoring as well as we should," Morrow said.
Princeton remains optimistic on its season and steadfast that the time will come when the Tigers exact revenge on Penn State.
"We have a stretch of a lot of games where we're not worried about our opponents," Birdwell said.
"We're in a good position where we can grow as a team. We'll be fine."
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