Poor serving dooms Tigers

Every season, the Tigers travel to the Golden State to train against some of the better teams in the nation, and this season was no exception. For Princeton it is always a time to sort out some early-season kinks and gain some vital experience to take into conference play, which begins later this week.

“We actually played really well,” junior setter Brandon Denham said. “We made some mistakes that we won’t be making later in the season, but overall it was a better trip than any that I’ve had.”

UCSD and Cal Baptist had already combined for 13 games before the Tigers came to town — the Tritons have already knocked off defending national champion UC-Irvine twice — and Princeton, shaking the rust off from a 12-10 season last year, fell to its more experienced foes.

Against the Tritons on Jan. 30, Princeton put forth a strong effort but fell 32-30, 24-30, 30-22, 30-27. Down 23-18 in the first game, the Tigers fought back to tie the game at 27, but after seven straight sideouts, UCSD sealed the victory.

Princeton carried its momentum into the second game, jumping out to an 11-4 lead that it never relinquished. Game three was not as close, but the Tigers made the fourth and final game competitive. The two teams traded the lead a match-high 14 times in the final frame until the Tritons pulled ahead for the 30-27 victory.

For Princeton, the loss left a lot to be worked on, but also a lot to be proud of. The Tigers posted more kills — 61 to the Tritons’ 49 — and better attack percentage — .204 to UCSD’s .145. Senior outside hitter and captain Peter Eichler led the team with 18 kills, while Denham recorded 54 assists, eight digs and five blocks.

When asked to critique his team’s performance, Denham focused on several key areas.

“Serving and passing,” Denham said. “Passing is a lot better than it was last year, though we still need to work on blocking and defense in general before this weekend.”

The Tigers’ biggest struggles came from their service game, as they recorded only six aces and committed 26 service errors.

Against Cal Baptist the next evening, Princeton once again lost the opening game and rallied in the second but ultimately fell to 0-2 on the season with a 30-25, 22-30, 30-25, 30-26 loss to the Lancers.

The Tigers received 21 kills from Eichler, as well as strong offensive performances from Denham, junior outside hitter Phillip Rosenberg and sophomore middle Jeff McCown. Denham recorded 55 assists and three blocks, Rosenberg had 13 kills and hit .417, and McCown had eight kills and hit .500.

On defense, Princeton received nine digs from junior libero Ka’ohu Berg-Hee and five blocks from junior middle blockers Mike Vincent and Cameron Heggi.

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Similarly to UCSD, Cal Baptist is an elite NCAA program — though unranked,the Lancers had played a five-game nailbiter against N0. 11 UCLA the night before — but unlike their match against the Tritons, the Tigers served well in their match versus the Lancers. Princeton finished with four kills and only 11 service errors. The team did, however, have fewer kills, digs, and a lower attack percentage.

The following night, Feb. 1, the Tigers travelled to Fullerton, Cali. to take on Hope International. Princeton came out hot against the Royals and cruised to its first win of the season, 30-23, 30-23, 30-28.

Princeton received strong individual efforts from Denham, who had a match-high 41 assists and three aces, and Eichler, with 10 kills and nine digs, but the real key to the match was Princeton’s balanced, consistent attack. Ten different Tigers had kills and six different Tigers had digs. The team-wide effort earned a season-high .407 attack percentage and a season-high nine aces.

Overall, the trip was a good learning experience for the Tigers. They do not have as much time as many West Coast teams to get acclimated at the start of their season, but Princeton used this volleyball crash course to prepare itself for conference play. The Tigers showed their resilience against two tough teams, and after noting what needs to be continued and what needs to be improved, put it all together against Hope International.

The Tigers now have a short turnaround, as the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association season begins with games Friday at Juniata and Saturday at East Stroudsburg.