Hot hitting gets Tigers sixth win

A lot of elements go into making a kill. The pass, the set, the jump, the timing, the swing, the angle — they all have to be just right. On Tuesday night in Dillon Gym, senior captain and right side Reid Joseph put on a clinic. Joseph finished the three-game sweep of Rutgers-Newark with a .867 hitting percentage, near perfection in the game of volleyball, with 13 kills on 15 attempts.

Joseph's performance characterized a very strong match all around for the Tigers. With the exception of their struggles with serving in the second game, Princeton (6-5 overall, 4-2 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) shut down the main offensive options of the Scarlet Knights (2-15, 0-7), played solid defense and took advantage of almost every opportunity for a kill. The team hit over .435 in each game, averaging .465 overall.

Coming out of the huddle, Princeton didn't joke around. Unlike Saturday's game, there was no rust in sight as the Tigers exploded out of the gates. On a service run by sophomore outside hitter Philip Rosenberg, including his one ace on the night, and a kill by sophomore middle blocker Mike Vincent, the Tigers took a 10-4 lead.

"We didn't do anything wrong in the first game," junior captain and outside hitter Peter Eichler said. "We blocked well, hit well, passed well."

Princeton finished the game 30-13 with 20 kills on 30 attempts and only six errors. It was almost too strong a start.

"We were near perfect," head coach Glenn Nelson said, "but that is trouble. The worst you can do is win the first game by that much because you just can't coach that out of them if they are so successful. That's why in the second game they waited until [the score] evened out at, what, 25 or 26 points before they buckled down."

The second game, with a final score of 30-27, was not so perfect.

A lineup switch made by the Scarlet Knights moving three hitters to the front row and eight service errors by the Tigers, which gave Rutgers-Newark almost one third of their points, put the brakes on the Tiger show.

The Tigers took advantage of their kill attempts off the assists by sophomore setter Brandon Denham, who had a match-high 33 assists. The Tigers hit .485 in the second game, but their defense and serving was not as tight, and the Scarlet Knights hit many kills directly through the Tiger blocks.

The Tigers fought to stay ahead throughout the game, never relinquishing the lead but allowing Rutgers to tie the score multiple times. Princeton waited until the very end to pull away on the heels of one of Eichler's six aces.

"They are a good team, and they weren't going to roll over," Eichler said. "They came out and played well in the second game."

In the third game, it was back to business, as the Tigers opened up a five-point lead on Denham's serve and never looked back. Freshman middle blocker Jeff McCown came off the bench to light things up, with three kills on four attempts and half a block in the final game.

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The Tigers were also having fun as they finished it up. When Rosenberg and Vincent got big blocks in the middle of the game that helped open the lead to nine points, both celebrated with ritual chest-bumps with captain Eichler.

"We finished the game having fun and wanting it," Eichler said.

Along with the enthusiasm, the Tigers played pretty volleyball to win the final game 30-23 and sweep the match.

This victory puts Princeton at second place at 4-2 in EIVA Tait League play. They play No. 3 George Mason on Friday in Dillon Gym. This game will help determine if the Tigers can set themselves apart from the rest, as they look to continue to take advantage of their home stand. Playing at home, the Tigers are 3-1, only losing to division leader Penn State.

A victory over George Mason would give Princeton commanding control over second place in league. They take on the Patriots at 7 p.m. Friday night.