When his ball hit the court for the last time in Dillon Gym, senior middle hitter Evan Pasion had cause to celebrate. With the kill in his last home match, he helped clinch a five-game playoff victory against Juniata College, sending the men's volleyball team to the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Final Four for the first time in four years.
Pasion's kill topped off perhaps the most thrilling match of the season for the Tigers (11-9 overall, 6-6 EIVA Tait Division), as they came out to dominate the Eagles (17-9, 6-6) in the deciding fifth game of their closely contested quarterfinal match.
"We knew we had it," junior captain and outside hitter Peter Eichler said.
The Tigers sent that message, although inconsistently, throughout a rollercoaster match. The Tigers ran away with the first game, let Juniata steal the second game, grabbed the third to take the lead, stumbled through the fourth and dominated the fifth for the win.
As the game went back and forth, so did the emotions in the gym. Juniata traveled with an impressive fan base, but the Tiger faithful also showed up to help push the Tigers past the Eagles.
"We should have beaten them in three," head coach Glenn Nelson said. The players agreed but were ecstatic with the finish.
Once Princeton hit the court for the last game, the team knew it wasn't going to let this victory slip away. With strong defense that had been consistent throughout the match, Eichler led the way with two kills and an ace as the Tigers jumped out to a 5-1 lead before Juniata called a timeout to regroup.
Juniata fought back to tie the game at five on senior middle hitter Jeremy Barndt's service ace. On the next point, however, Barndt hit his serve into the net, giving the ball back to the Tigers.
Princeton dominated the end of the game, and the excitement on the court was palpable each time the scoreboard edged forward in favor of the Tigers. With tight defense, including a solo block by sophomore setter Brandon Denham, the Tigers won the decisive fifth game 15-8.
"We had such a great week at practice that I knew we were really prepared for the game," Nelson said. That enthusiasm clearly carried over into the team's play Sunday.
The Tigers made sure the Eagles knew what was coming right from the get-go, jumping out to a 10-4 lead in the first game. While Princeton did have to rely on a timeout to clean up some sloppy hits, the Tigers returned to find the holes in the Juniata defense and pulled away to a 30-22 victory, sealed by an ace by sophomore outside hitter Phillip Rosenberg.
The game-winning ace was representative of Rosenberg's overall performance, as he chalked up 12 powerful kills and 14 acrobatic digs to help guide the Tigers to the Final Four.
Princeton appeared to remain in the groove for most of the second game, playing tight defense and smart volleyball as a team. The Tigers won points by finding places to sneak the pall over the net rather than with powerful hitting.
Juniata attempted to turn the tide with a serving substitution, but it remained down by three to four points until two straight hitting errors gave the Eagles their first tie of the game at 29-29 since evening the score at 11-11.
As the game pushed into overtime, the Tigers managed to keep the advantage until a serving error gave Juniata the serve for the win. As Eichler's dig went out of bounds, the Tigers found themselves tied for the match.
After starting sluggishly in the third game, the Tigers came back to life in the middle of the game.
They fed off the energy of freshman Carl Hamming, who came in for senior outside hitter Reid Joseph at 12-14, and finished his one and a half games with two kills, two aces and five blocking assists. The presence of a guest Princeton streaker, however, who caused a serving error by Juniata, may have also played a role.
After exchanging four serving errors in a row, Princeton pulled ahead to win 30-24.
The Tigers fought hard during the fourth game but couldn't manage to keep up with the Eagles, who seemed to figure out Eichler's attack.
The Tigers had to turn elsewhere, but they couldn't put together a run to overcome the deficit and lost 30-25.
But that team was nowhere to be found when the Tigers stormed the court for the final game, and Eichler's attack was again baffling.
"We wanted the Final Four," Eichler said.
That's where the Tigers will go next week to play Penn State, a national powerhouse and the top team in the division.
In six games against the Nittany Lions this season, the Tigers have yet to win, but they are going to go in pumped up and ready for the challenge.
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