M. volleyball loses tight match to Rutgers-Newark

One point. Just one single point. That's how close the men's volleyball team came to sweeping Rutgers last Wednesday. That's how close the Tigers were to finishing a six-game tear through two of the top three teams in their conference. That's how close they were to home advantage in the first round of the playoffs. So close, and yet so far.

One match away from taking the lead in the race for the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association's fourth and final home postseason spot, Princeton (13-8 overall, 6-6 EIVA) marched into the gym at Rutgers-Newark last Wednesday night with destiny seemingly on its side. The Tigers were fresh off a brilliant road sweep of EIVA's second-ranked George Mason University, making the Scarlet Knights' No. 3 ranking seem almost inconsequential.

Unfortunately, Rutgers (12-9, 8-4) played with the same tenacity it demonstrated in its 3-2 defeat of Princeton earlier in the season, this time coming back from the very brink of defeat to win the match and throw the Tigers' postseason goals back into confusion.

In spite of the impressive win from a few nights before, Princeton had serious cause for worry against Rutgers. The Tigers were playing without sophomore outside Blake Robinson — out due to illness — whom the team has relied heavily on for his impressive offensive skills. Earlier in the year, without Robinson, the team would have had little to no reason for hope. Now, however, it appeared that salvation was at hand. It came in the form of senior outside hitter Ray Robins, playing in his first year with the squad after wrapping up his basketball career.

With the athletic Robins helping to fill the hole left by Robinson's absence, the first two games were a demonstration of Princeton prowess. With an average hitting percentage around .460, the Tigers outlasted the Scarlet Knights by scores of 30-25 and 31-29. With the score tied at 32-32 in the third game, Robins came up with a critical kill to give Princeton a one-point lead and the chance to control the fourth playoff spot in one play. Unfortunately, the subsequent Tiger serve went out, and with it went the team's momentum. Helped by two more Princeton errors, Rutgers recovered quickly to win game three, 35-33, and proceeded to leave the Tigers in its dust.

"You gotta step on them when you got them down," head coach Glenn Nelson said. "We didn't do that."

And the team paid the price.

The Scarlet Knights won the next two games, 30-22 and 15-7, as Princeton's hopes for victory and home advantage slipped painfully away. The combination of Robinson's absence and ten more team errors than Rutgers was just too much, leaving the Tigers grasping for the momentum they had in the first three games and never recovering it. Still, the team had produced a valiant effort in spite of its woes.

Sophomore outside Ryn Burns led the team with 26 kills, followed by 17 and 12 digs from Robins. Junior setter Jason Liljestrom racked up a mind-boggling 70 assists over the course of the match. Great statistics or not, however, the team's future now looks less bright.

In order to obtain the fourth and final home playoff spot, Princeton will have to win out all of its remaining matches. That doesn't sound too bad on the surface, but one of those games is a road trip to Penn State. The scholarship-advantaged Nittany Lions have long ruled the EIVA with an iron fist, and to take a match from them on their own floor would be a mighty feat indeed. At the moment, the most likely result is a fifthor sixth-place finish, leaving the Tigers facing an away game at Juniata College or Rutgers in the conference tournament.

Whatever the case, this team should in no way be counted out because of this loss. With the emergence of Robins and Robinson's return, Princeton could easily become the equivalent of basketball's Gonzaga in the EIVA tourney, showing just how little seeds can mean. The Tigers begin the end of the regular season tonight, in an away game at Concordia.