'Hammer'-less Princeton drops third straight

Playing tough as nails even without its "Hammer," the men's volleyball team put forth a valiant effort but fell short yet again on Friday, when it dropped a close match, 3-2, to St. Francis. The loss was the third in a row and the fifth in the last six games for the Tigers (3-10, 2-6 EIVA Tait Division), who have played the last four games without senior standout Brian Hamming, whose season ended prematurely with a shoulder injury.

Despite dropping the first game, Princeton jumped out to a 2-1 lead before the Red Flash (9-7, 5-2) used well-timed runs in the fourth and fifth games to take the match. The score was knotted at 9-9 in the fifth game before St. Francis, propelled by two kills from junior middle Marc Honore, took the deciding game, 15-11.

Stepping up in the middle for Princeton was freshman middle Michael Vincent, who tallied 16 kills and six blocks while recording a .583 attack percentage. The Tigers were also led by freshman setter Brandon Denham, whose 57 assists and nine digs were both team highs.

On the wings, outside hitters senior Jack Pichard and sophomore Peter Eichler each recorded 18 kills. Eichler tallied six digs, while Pichard had an ace for the match. Sophomore middle hitter R.J. Liljestrom, who was inserted in the lineup in place of Hamming, had 10 kills.

Despite strong individual efforts, the Tigers could do little to stop the Red Flash's Honore. The six foot. six inch Trinidad native recorded 16 kills, 12 blocks and three aces and showed monster leaping ability. Two weeks ago, Honore was named Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men's National Player of the Week.

The first game saw many ties and lead changes, as neither team led by more than three. The match began with an emphatic spike from Eichler, but Honore quickly responded with one of his own. Late in the game, two kills from Liljestrom tied the score at 27, but St. Francis took three of the last four points for a 30-28 win.

In the second game, the Red Flash jumped to an early 4-1 lead, but Princeton stayed in the game and eventually tied the score at 20. But St. Francis took the lead again, and at 29-27, had two game points for a 2-0 lead. A kill by Eichler and a block by Denham and Vincent erased both opportunities. The Tigers won four of the last five points of the game, and back-to-back kills by Eichler and Pichard sealed a 32-30 victory.

The third game saw the most success for Princeton. Fueled by a raucous crowd, the Tigers cruised to a 30-25 win. Tied at two early, a kill by Vincent began a run in which Princeton won 10 of 12 points for a 12-4 lead. The Red Flash stayed in the game though, and with a five-point streak of their own, closed the lead to three points. But St. Francis couldn't overcome the deficit.

The Red Flash quickly silenced the previously boisterous crowd in the fourth game. St. Francis jumped out to a 7-1 lead behind six attack errors and one service error from the Tigers, and never looked back, only allowing the lead to dwindle to two points before finishing the game 30-24. With Princeton serving, down 9-13, a man wearing nothing but a lacrosse helmet sprinted across the court, much to the amusement of the crowd and the chagrin of the security guards. That was to be the only streak of game four, however, as the Tigers could not overcome the early deficit.

The loss of Hamming proved to be costly for the match, as Princeton did not have the size and firepower in the middle to stop Honore. But strong promise was shown in freshmen Vincent and Denham, as well as freshman outside hitter Philip Rosenberg, who finished the match with seven kills and an ace.

The Tigers return to action this Saturday against Juniata College (6-8, 2-5) at 4 p.m. in Dillon Gym.