Men's volleyball no match for Nittany Lions on road

As April reaches its midway point, the men's volleyball team is reaching the end of its long season. This weekend's contest against Penn State was the Tigers' final regular-season game. With the playoffs starting next week, the honeymoon is over for the Princeton team. After the Tigers' 3-0 loss to the Nittany Lions over the weekend, the team kows that it is time to get serious. From here on out, every game will be door-die for the Tigers.

Princeton is part of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association's Tait Division, which is the top collegiate volleyball league in the Northeast. Penn St. dominates the division almost every year and did not disappoint in 2004. The No. 8 Nittany Lions finished the season with an 18-6 overall record that included a 10-1 mark in league play. Their 3-0 win over Princeton at home clinched another EIVA regular-season title.

The Tigers, meanwhile, had a season filled with ups and downs. They finished their season with a respectable 13-9 overall record, but the team went only 5-7 in league games. Princeton's young lineup includes only one senior, setter and captain Jason Liljestrom, and the Tigers' youth and inexperience was usually on display when the team took to the road. In Tait matches that were played in opposing gyms, the Tigers finished 1-5.

Princeton's 4-2 home record in league play, however, gives Tiger fans reason to hope for big things in the first round of the EIVA playoffs on April 24. The Tigers have a good chance to finish fourth in the Tait Division, which would give them home court advantage for their first round playoff matchup against the league's fifth-place team.

Entering Saturday's match at State College, Pa., the Tigers had a chance to wrap up at least fourth place in the division and clinch a home playoff game. The Nittany Lions also had playoff seeding on the line, as their win over Princeton gave them home-court advantage throughout the EIVA playoffs.

The added motivation from the playoff implications was all the Nittany Lions needed to steamroll the helpless Tigers. Princeton was playing without its top hitter, junior Blake Robinson, who is out indefinitely with a sprained ankle. Without Robinson's offensive abilities, the Tiger attack was no match for Penn St.'s tall blockers.

Penn St. won the first game easily by a score of 30-20. They dominated the second game too, 30-22, before pulling out the straight-game victory, 30-25, in the third and final game.

Junior outside hitter Ryn Burns and sophomore opposite Jack Pichard each attempted to compensate for Robinson's absence, contributing nine kills apiece, and Liljestrom fought hard to get the Princeton offense going with 35 assists. Ultimately, however, the Tiger effort was not enough to upset the hometown favorites.

The Tiger loss, while not unexpected considering Penn St.'s season-long dominance, became more important when the team received word that George Mason had upset No. 3 Rutgers-Newark by a 3-0 score on Saturday. The win allowed George Mason to stay in contention for fourth place in the Tait. The Patriots still have to beat the Nittany Lions, however, in order to take over the fourth spot in the Tait Division standings.

The Tigers must hope that Penn State uses the match to tune up for the playoffs, because if the Patriots win, Princeton's playoff chances will take a serious hit. The Tigers stand a good chance of beating either George Mason or Springfield, their likely first round opponents, if they play at home in Dillon Gym. If the Tigers must take to the road, a victory will be harder to come by.

If they play on the road, the Tigers will be battling the memories of a 3-1 loss at George Mason in March, as well as the frustration of their miserable road record this season. It's no wonder, then, that the attention of the Princeton players will be turned towards Fairfax, Va. next weekend, where the Patriots and Nittany Lions will play the final match of the EIVA regular season.

In stark contrast to this weekend, when Penn St. was the enemy, the Tigers must hope that the Nittany Lions become their friends. Princeton could use the help.