Tigers top NJIT, fall to Penn St.

The men's volleyball team split its pair of weekend matches, winning a nail-biter 3-2 Friday night against the New Jersey Institute of Technology and falling 3-0 to a very strong No. 11 Penn State team Saturday afternoon.

In Friday's contest, Princeton (5-11 overall, 3-7 EIVA Tait division) pulled out a tense 15-13 victory in the fifth game after surviving a comeback by NJIT (11-10, 6-4 EIVA Hay). The Tigers had several match points and seemed to be in control, but the Highlanders mounted a furious rally before a ball-handling error at 14-13 ended the match.

Senior outside hitter Jack Pichard led all players with 22 kills, while freshman setter Brandon Denham led the game with 60 assists. Sophomore outside hitter Peter Eichler notched 16 kills, freshman middle blocker Michael Vincent had 11, and freshman outside hitter Ka'ohu Berg-Hee had 10. Senior libero Mark Stevens led all players with 11 digs, while Vincent led the game with 6 blocks.

The Tigers won the first two games handily, 30-21 and 30-22. NJIT seemed overmatched as Princeton built up leads early in each of the games, and then cruised to victory.

But NJIT would not go away easily. The Highlanders outstretched the Tigers in a highly contested third game, winning 30-27.

But it was the fourth game where NJIT showed true grit, fighting off three match points to pull off a 33-31 victory, setting up the thrilling game five. The Highlanders hit .387 and .375 attack percentages for the third and fourth games, compared to their .199 average for the entire match.

For both the entire match and the deciding fifth game, Princeton opened up big leads, let NJIT back in the game, and then finally closed the deal.

"Give them credit, they really picked up their play in the third game," Eichler said. "But also I think we laid back a little too much, and that let them come back."

Penn State too strong

In Saturday's match, Princeton fell to talented and athletic Penn State (15-7, 11-1) 30-22, 30-22, and 30-27. Pichard led the Tigers with 12 kills on .526 hitting, as Eichler tallied 8 kills for the match. Denham led all players with 27 assists, while Vincent led the game with six blocks.

In the first game, the Nittany Lions opened up an early 9-3 lead and never let the deficit shrink any smaller than five, leading by as many as nine at various points. In the second game, Penn State capitalized on an early streak, winning seven of nine points at one stretch, to establish a quick lead. Princeton fought back, cutting the lead to three at one point, but the Nittany Lions held on for the victory.

The third game saw by far the Tigers' best effort. Penn State built yet another early lead, but Princeton fought back to make the game close.

Tigers rally

The Nittany Lions used a six-point streak to build a 17-10 lead, and led by as many as 10, 24-14, before the Tigers rallied to 27-23. Penn State won the next two points to set up match point, but Princeton won four straight behind the tough serving of Vincent, forcing the Lions' coach to call a timeout, before a service error ended the match.

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Despite the loss, the Tigers weren't wholly unsatisfied with their effort.

"I think we had a great attitude today," Eichler said. "It really showed in the last game, where we didn't give up. It was nonstop, very fast play, and Jack [Prichard] was great. We played very well for our last home match of the season."

Princeton returns to action Tuesday at NYU (9-12, 0-11), whom the Tigers defeated 3-0 earlier this season, before traveling to No. 14 George Mason (18-5, 7-1) on Friday.