Loss to Concordia at EIVAs ends season for men's volleyball

If ever there was a team that understood the meaning of the term déjà vu it is the men's volleyball team, especially after fall-ing to Concor-dia in the opening round of the Eastern Inter-collegiate Volleyball Association tournament Saturday night.

Princeton (13-14) nearly stunned the Clippers on the road but faltered late in the fifth and final game, losing the series, 3-2. This was the second time the Tigers had been defeated in five games by Concordia and must have seemed reminiscent of the last encounter between the two teams.

In the deciding fifth game everything went south for the Tigers, while the Clippers could do no wrong. Concordia cruised to victory in the tiebreaker riding an impressive .600 hitting percentage to Princeton's .235.

Much like the last time the teams clashed, Princeton jumped on the Clippers early and dominated throughout the first game, winning 30-21.

The Tigers were in great shape heading into game two, but from a statistical standpoint the contest was more even than the score of the first game suggests.

In game one Princeton hit .371 to Concordia's .314, signifying that the Clippers needed to eliminate some of their unforced errors in order to threaten the Tigers.

In the second game Concordia was a completely different team. The Clippers were aggressive and played with renewed confidence.

They did not look like a team that had just been routed in the previous game.

The end result of game two was an impressive 30-19 Concordia victory in which the Clippers hit a mesmerizing .522. To say the least, Princeton was caught off guard by Concordia's offensive explosion and had no response for it in the game.

However, in the third game the Tigers turned the tables on the Clippers with their 30-22 victory. At this point it was becoming clear that either team was capable of making a run and that it would be a long day for both combatants.

Princeton did not really elevate its level of play in the third game, but took advantage of Concordia's meager .163 to their .325. Needless to say, Clipper fans were getting restless and were beginning to wonder which Concordia team would show up for the crucial fourth game.

Although Princeton had a 2-1 lead going into game four, the Tigers knew their work was far from over. The Tigers had been in a position to eliminate the Clippers in four games not long ago, only to see Concordia rally to win two consecutive games.

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The fourth game was a battle but the Clippers were able to pull ahead in the late stages and won, 30-24.

Once again Princeton had let Concordia back into a match they seemingly had control of, only this time the stakes were much higher.

When the smoke cleared the Clipper faithful celebrated their third straight trip to the EIVA Final Four where a date with Penn State awaits.

Though the Tigers had let another close one slip away they were very fortunate to have even been in a position to win the series at all.

Princeton was outblocked 7-14.5 and outhit .350-.237, yet almost defeated Concordia on the road.

This speaks volumes about the resiliency of the men's volleyball team. Even when not at its best the team is still a force to be reckoned with.

Even though the Tigers suffered a similar defeat to the Clippers and were again eliminated in the quarterfinals of the EIVA tournament, their season was a far cry from last year's. Next season a more experienced Princeton squad should challenge some of the Tait Division's better teams, and avoid making the same mistakes against teams such as Concordia.