Men's volleyball began its season out west with games against La Verne, University of California-Irvine, University of California-San Diego, and Hope International. The Tigers (1-3) avoided being swept by their California foes with a win over Hope International.
After suffering three 3-0 losses in their first three games of the season, the Tigers beat Hope International to avoid returning home winless.
Princeton dominated the Eagles during the first two games, winning 30-24 and 30-25. But the third game was a different story, as the Tigers rallied from behind for a 30-28 victory.
Hope International had an opportunity to put the third game away but missed a key serve in the final minutes, allowing Princeton to take control and work to a 29-28 lead.
The Leopards are technically a Division III school but are classified as an NCAA independent, allowing them to compete against Division I schools like the University of Southern California, University of California-Santa Barbara, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount and University of the Pacific.
Junior opposite Dennis Alshuler produced a kill to cement the Tigers' win. Alshuler also had 15 kills for the game.
Freshman outside hitter Blake Robinson had an all-around solid performance as well with eight digs and 16 kills in the win. Sophomore setter Jason Liljestrom added 46 assists.
Princeton started its California campaign against the Leopards of La Verne. The Leopards (3-4), who were the Division III Champions in 1999, narrowly won the first game 30-29 and then dominated the second, winning 30-19. In the third game La Verne edged Princeton 30-27.
Robinson led the Tigers in kills against the Leopards with 19, while Liljestrom had a team-high 41 assists.
Princeton's second match of the day was against the eighth-ranked UC-Irvine Anteaters, who finished last season tied for seventh nationally with a (13-13) record.
UC-Irvine handed the Tigers their second loss of the day, winning all three games, 30-27, 30-18 and 30-28. The Anteaters improved to 4-4 with the victory as Princeton fell to 0-2.
Robinson and Alshuler led the Tigers with nine kills each, as Liljestrom recorded 33 set assists. Senior middle hitter Scott Dore had a match-high nine digs in the loss.
Sophomore outside hitter Jimmy Pelzel led UC-Irvine with 11 kills and sophomore OH Spencer Bemus accounted for 10 more. Eleven other players recorded at least one kill for the Anteaters. Senior outside hitter Devin Shea and sophomore setter David Kniffin led the team with six digs each.
Princeton's third match was against UCSD. The Tritons were also looking for their first win of the season after suffering five straight losses this year and an abysmal season last year, finishing (6-21) overall, with a (0-17) conference record.
The Tritons stunned the Tigers by winning the first two games of the set, 30-21 and 30-18, respectively. In the final game, however, Princeton refused to be passive, battling UCSD to a tough 32-30 loss.
Liljestrom tallied 34 set assists against the Tritons. Robinson led the Tigers with 11 kills, while freshman outside hitter Ryn Burns and Alshuler combined for 17 kills.
The advantage in kills favored UCSD 59-36, and the Tritons were able to come up with twelve more defensive digs than Princeton. Senior setter Jordan Hove had a game-high 49 assists for UCSD.
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