I begin this article by posing a question: what moves at nearly 100 miles per hour, besides a disgruntled American Idol contestant's foot towards Simon's posterior? Answer: a men's volleyball spike, which this year's squad will be dishing out repeatedly in the season ahead. With an influx of new talent and size, Princeton may suffer some growing pains, but by playoff time the squad should be ready to rock the hardwood.
The Tigers will be led this season as always by head coach Glenn Nelson, the John Wooden of Princeton volleyball who is now entering his 25th year as coach. Nelson's leaders on the floor will be team captains senior Dennis Alshuler at opposite and junior Jason Liljestrom at setter. The other projected starters are freshman Brian Hamming and sophomore Sean Vitousek at middle, and sophomores Blake Robinson and Ryn Burns at outside.
With only two upperclassmen in the starting group, these Tigers are obviously very young, but they possess that greatest of unteachable skills — they are big. Led by the 6'8" Hamming, the starters have an average height of 6'4", and it is there that some of the most important potential for the future lies.
One of Princeton's greatest strengths this season will be its size, which will allow it to match up with teams that in the past would have hit and blocked the Tigers out of the gym. The enlarged lineup gives Liljestrom all sorts of options in starting the attack, and at the very least should make the squad exciting to watch. Ever searching for improvement, however, Nelson is not yet satisfied.
"Size can be misleading. We've got to get quicker," Nelson said, pointing out one deficiency that became apparent on Princeton's recent trip to California. The Tiger defense also needs work, and the team clearly lacks much experience. Even though the team returned from California with a record of 1-3, it comes in to conference play after standing toe to toe with the best team in the nation. With the improvement that should come with each game Princeton should by no means be counted out.
"The younger guys need to get accustomed to the faster rate of play, but hopefully by the end we'll be playing our best volleyball and be in a position to make a run at the playoffs," Alshuler said.
Those playoffs would be for the league championships in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, Princeton's conference and the source of one bid for volleyball's NCAA Championships.
The Tigers marched all the way to the Final Four in 1998 but have not replicated that success since, finishing fifth in the EIVA last season.
To improve upon that result Princeton will need to figure out a way to beat opponents such as Rutgers, George Mason and Concordia. Perhaps the biggest regular season game will occur against rival Juniata, a team Princeton stomped last year that will be out for revenge. Juniata is often a strong team that has posed a threat to Princeton in the past.
Any hopes of advancement out of the conference will have to go through one team: Penn State.
The Nittany Lions are kings in the EIVA, with a consistent top-15 national ranking and the always-annoying advantage of being a scholarship school. Their main strength, the ability to bring in huge amounts of talent, will plague the Tigers against other teams as well.
"For the most part, we're playing against four scholarships every night," Nelson said. But the Tigers believe they can overcome this handicap.
Indeed, lowly Harvard is the only other non-scholarship squad in the league, leaving Princeton with a significant obstacle to overcome. At the moment, Nelson has his squad pointed towards one goal — getting past one of the top four teams in the East. For now, though, the Tigers are focused on the present.
This young team needs to improve its defense, get up to speed with the college game, and acquire one more key home advantage before they can challenge for a playoff spot.
"I want to stress how important it is for us to get a big crowd, and I'd like to thank everybody for [coming out]," Alshuler said.
Catch the Tigers in action and earn their captain's gratitude this Sunday against the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
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