Embattled and injured volleyball team falls in three to Rutgers

Men's volleyball faced Rutgers twice in 2001, with each team winning on the road by a score of 3-1.

Tuesday's game was much more than a volleyball game; it was a matter of state pride. Unfortunately it was a battle Princeton lost, 3-0 (30-24, 30-25, 30-22) last night at Dillon.

Princeton entered the match missing two starters: junior opposite Jason Alshuler and freshman outside hitter Ryn Burns.

The Tigers were thus forced to play some of their personnel out of position, a move that ultimately proved costly.

In the opening game of the series Rutgers appeared determined to set the tone early. Although the Scarlet Knights were plagued with several service errors, they managed to keep Princeton at bay for the entire game.

The closest the Tigers got in the first game was 21-17, courtesy of a Rutgers service error.

Unfortunately, Princeton's rally was short lived. The Scarlet Knights rallied for three straight points, pushing the score to 24-17. The Tigers never recovered, though they managed to fight off three game points before losing, 30-24.

Princeton seemed upbeat before the second game and came out firing. The Tigers raced out to a 4-0 lead early on, and eventually increased its lead to 17-12. Princeton was on the verge of pulling away until Rutgers went on an 8-3 run to even the game at 20 all.

The second game proceeded to go back and forth until the Scarlet Knights posted a 5-0 run to close out the Tigers, 30-25. Freshman outside hitter Blake Robinson recorded three kills in a row for Princeton. Heading into the third and final game Rutgers — up two games to none — was looking for the kill.

The final game was close most of the way, but the Scarlet Knights were clearly in control. Much like the first game, Rutgers cruised to a 30-22 victory.

Robinson had a team-high 13 kills and senior middle hitter Scott Dore added seven. Sophomore setter Jason Liljestrom recorded a team-high 25 assists.

Rutgers also relied heavily on its jump-serve, registering seven service aces.

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"Their jump-serve really caught us off guard, and setup a lot of easy digs for them. Rutgers was a much better team than I expected," freshman middle hitter Sean Vitousek said.

"Rutgers is a very good team, they're looking at a two or three seed in the Easterns. We're a young team and with two injured starters. Depth becomes a problem so we just have to take things one day at a time," head coach Glenn Nelson said.

Men's volleyball missed a golden opportunity last Thursday night against New York University, losing 3-1 (14-30, 30-27, 30-28, 30-24).

Princeton entered the contest with a record of 5-6, and had an opportunity to reach the .500 mark for the first time this season.

The Tigers were riding a season-high three game-winning streak after defeating St. Francis, Harvard, and the New Jersey Institute of Technol-ogy.

Princeton took the first game in convincing fashion, 30-14, dominating the Violets from start to finish.

NYU was unable to put together a serious rally during the opening game, as Princeton seemed to systematically pick apart the Violets' usually solid defense.

NYU was 5-2 on the year, and in contention to win the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Associ-ation's Hay divisional crown.

Although the Tigers pounced on the Violets early, NYU battled back to win three straight games improving to 6-2 on the year. The Violets extended their winning-streak to three, while Princeton fell to 5-7.

NYU's offensive explosion in the final three games proved too much for the Tigers, as the Violets' dynamic duo of Senior Kevin Edwards and sophomore Evan Finch each recorded a team-high 16 kills. Sophomore Mike Moser also added 14 kills.

Freshman outside hitter Blake Robinson had another solid performance for Princeton, recording a match-high 21 kills and a team-high 10 digs.