The Nittany Lions' Aaron Smith set the tone for the Penn State-Princeton volleyball game this past Saturday by hitting five service aces in a row within the first few minutes of the match. Though men's volleyball head coach Glenn Nelson rarely calls timeouts, the ease with which the Lions jumped out to an early lead forced him to call his players back over to the bench. His sideline instructions, however, could not propel the Tigers (6-12 overall, 3-9 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) back into the match, as they ended their three-match winning streak and fell to the Lions (26-3, 11-0), 30-23, 30-22 and 30-20.
"We were playing a national powerhouse," said freshman outside hitter Peter Eichler, who led Princeton with 11 kills on Saturday. "Penn State is an incredibly talented and physically powerful team."
The Nittany Lions are seeded third in the league and have captured an impressive total of 26 wins this season. Each set was a struggle for Princeton.
Slow start
After taking off with a streak of aces in the first set to push the score to 11-6, Penn State kept the Tigers at bay to maintain a sevenor eight-point margin throughout most of the first set.
The second set was no different. With a series of attack errors by Princeton, the Nittany Lions took another early lead, clinching a score of 9-2 in their favor within the first 11 points. Again, Penn State held onto that sixor seven-point margin to take the set, 30-22.
The Tigers stole an early lead in the first few minutes of the third set, which began with a kill from senior middle hitter Sean Vitousek, but the Nittany Lions' Aaron Smith dominated with yet another five service ace streak to pull the score from 6-6 to 11-6 in Penn State's favor. Once again, the Nittany Lions secured an early, comfortable margin, breezing through the last set, 30-20.
In spite of its defeat, Princeton is looking ahead optimistically.
"Despite the quick loss, it is a lot of fun to play a team at that level," Eichler said. "It's also a blast to play in an arena where there is such a big volleyball following. We could have played with more intensity and drive, but we have a lot to look forward to in the playoffs and in the coming years."
Withered Violets
Saturday's loss came after a pivotal win for the Tigers on Tuesday against NYU in a 30-28, 28-30, 30-23 and 30-24 victory. Senior outside hitter Blake Robinson and Vitousek combined for 38 kills to win the match that secured Princeton as the No. 5 seed in the EIVA playoffs and saved its seat in the top division of the EIVA league.
Sophomore opposite Reid Joseph contributed 10 kills and achieved a whopping .692 hitting percentage. Junior setter Jack Pichard set up 59 assists, and junior libero Mark Stevens recorded six digs.
"The game on Tuesday was a very important game," Vitousek said. "We have fallen short in a lot of really close games this year, and it was good to see that we had shown a little drive to win the 'must-win game.' "
"We came into the match obviously knowing what was at stake," Eichler said. "NYU was not an easy task either for us, despite our quick defeat of them earlier on in the season," he said, referring to Princeton's 30-17, 30-26 and 36-34 victory over NYU in February.
"Luckily, though, we had good consistent energy throughout the match, and we just grinded out the win," Eichler added. "We didn't fold when we could have after they took the second game, but, instead, we left it all out there on the court for two games."
Regarding teammate and classmate Robinson, who led the team with 21 kills, Vitousek said, "Blake was really the man in the game on Tuesday. He has been playing really well recently, and, hopefully, he will continue to lead us into and through the playoffs."
The Tigers will go on to play Rutgers-Newark in the playoffs on April 23. The Scarlet Raiders defeated Princeton in March, but the 30-27, 30-27 and 31-29 loss was a close game.
The Tigers will face Mercyhurst this Friday night to conclude their regular season.
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