As the men's volleyball season winds down, every game has a little extra meaning to it. Last Thursday, Princeton (12-8 overall, 6-6 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) played host to Sacred Heart (15-7, 9-3) in the Tigers' final regular-season home match, and possibly the final match to be played at Dillon Gym this season.
Princeton knew that it was battling to extend its home season into the playoffs. This may have proved just the motivation that the team needed, as Princeton came back from an early 1-0 hole to sweep the next three games and take the match, 3-1.
With the win, the Tigers sit solidly in fourth place in the Tait Division, the EIVA's top grouping. Tait's top four teams host opening-round EIVA playoff matches.
"Unless something really bizarre happens in the league, we should play at home in the playoffs," senior setter Jason Liljestrom said.
Sacred Heart may boast an impressive league record, but that stat is misleading. The Pioneers play in the EIVA's Sweeney Division, which is ranked lower than the Tait. Given this, the Tigers were cautiously optimistic heading into the match.
"We knew that they had split games with NYU, who we had played earlier in the season and beat in four [games]," Liljestrom said. "We expected to win, but we knew that they'd put up a fight."
And put up a fight the Pioneers did. Sacred Heart took the first game from a lethargic Princeton team, 30-24, behind the hitting of Michael Burns. Burns paced both teams with 16 kills on the day.
"In the first game everyone was kind of lackadaisical and didn't really have their heads in the game," Liljestrom said. "We just weren't putting it together. In the second game, the team woke up and had a little more heart and pride in playing. After we were able to put it together and win that game, we had the momentum from there."
The Tigers gave Sacred Heart a taste of its own medicine in the second frame, reversing the score to earn a 30-24 win. Princeton hit .407 in the win.
The teams headed into the crucial third game tied at one. Sacred Heart continued to challenge the Tigers, inching towards the required 30 points with leads of 27-26 and 28-27. Junior middle hitter Sean Vitousek stepped up with a kill to even the score the first time at 27, while sophomore opposite Jack Pichard did the same to tie it up at 28.
After sophomore middle hitter Brian Hamming threw up a block to get the Tigers to 29 points, an error by Sacred Heart's Doug Soviero gave Princeton a 30-29 lead. Soviero tried to redeem himself with a kill on the next play, apparently evening the score once again, but the referees called an illegal hit from the back row and awarded the Tigers the game, 31-29.
Now up, 2-1, Princeton ran away with the final game of the match. The Tigers chased the Pioneer starters from the court, eventually steamrolling Sacred Heart, 30-11, to seal the victory.
Liljestrom led the Tigers in his final regular-season home appearance with 42 assists. The senior also turned in five digs, four blocks and a kill. Vitousek, Hamming and junior outside hitter Ryn Burns all turned in 11 kills, while sophomore libero Mark Stevens contributed a match-high nine digs.
Princeton closes out its regular season with two away matches this week at NYU and league-leading Penn State.
The Tigers easily beat NYU in February, dropping only one game in the match. The Violets sit atop the EIVA's lower Hay Division, and should be an easy mark for Princeton.
But Penn State is a different story. Princeton hosted the Nittany Lions only one week ago, losing, 3-0. The match was closer than the score would indicate, however, as both the first and third games were tight wins for Penn State.
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