Princeton will show no mercy

Princeton (4-5 overall, 1-3 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association), looking to maintain its sterling home record, will defend its court against Mercyhurst (2-10, 1-4 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) tonight.

In the Tigers’ last game, senior outside hitter and co-captain Peter Eichler — better known as “Spike-ler” to Princeton fans — tallied a team-leading 16 kills to lead a 30-19, 30-28, 30-28 win over the Scarlet Raiders of Rutgers-Newark. Eichler also demonstrated his versatility by adding five digs, four aces and two blocks.

The Tiger offense has proven to be a potent combination of veteran and underclass talent. Junior setter Brandon Denham set up his teammates efficiently in the win against Rutgers with 40 assists. Other than Eichler, the main beneficiaries were junior outside hitter Phillip Rosenberg, sophomore middle blocker Jeff McCown and sophomore outside hitter Carl Hamming, who accumulated 25 total kills. Junior libero Ka’ohu Berg-Hee led the team in digs with 11.

Princeton last faced the Lakers in 2005, when the Tigers rallied from a slow start to an eventual 3-1 win. As a freshman, Eichler showed early promise for an impressive career, finishing the game with 19 kills.

In its most recent contest, Mercyhurst had a two-match win streak broken when the Lakers lost to Ball State 30-24, 30-21, 30-27. Before back-to-back victories over D’Youville College and Medaille College, Mercyhurst suffered nine consecutive losses to kick off its season.

In the loss against conference foe Ball State, which enjoyed its fourth consecutive win, Jeff Hartman led the Lakers with 11 kills, while Dave Newman added nine kills and a .333 attack percentage. Hartman and Newman are two of Mercyhurst’s scrappiest defensive players, as Hartman ranks second on the team with 48 digs this season, and Newman leads the Lakers in blocks with 57.

Meanwhile, the Laker offense features several dangerous players. Setter Dave Hatten had an all-around impressive performance in the loss against Ball State with 22 assists, nine digs and five blocks. Hatten also leads the team in digs this season with 60.

The player whom Hatten most often sets up, opposite Tim Wagner, led Mercyhurst in kills, points and aces last season.

After slumping back into its losing ways, Mercyhurst will strive to get a non-conference win against Princeton to retain any morale it might have gleaned from its brief two-game winning stint. The Tigers will look to Eichler to lead them on offense, as he trumps the rest of the team in kills, having already tallied 121 this season. Rosenberg ranks second with 75 kills, while McCown follows close behind with 73.

Denham, who currently averages 12.55 assists per game, will also need to have a strong showing for the Tigers this weekend if the offense is to succeed. In Princeton’s first conference game this season, he had a match-high 45 assists.

Defensive specialist Berg-Hee has filled his role as libero well this season, leading Princeton with 61 digs. The Tigers will also depend on McCown to have a strong performance on defense, as he has amassed 24 blocks this season, followed by junior middle blocker Mike Vincent with 21. Princeton’s Denham averages 12.55 assists per game.

A big reason for the Tigers’ success this season has been the emergence of Hamming as a prime-time player. The Chicago native currently ranks fourth in blocks and fifth in both digs and kills.

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Tonight’s game will be the second in a seven-game home stretch for the Tigers that will extend into the second weekend of March. Four of the seven contests will be conference matchups, including a March 5 showdown against in-state rival New Jersey Institute of Technology.

The upcoming contests will likely prove more competitive for the Tigers, who have yet to play a five-game match this season. A strong home stand will be a crucial step on Princeton’s road to the playoffs as the season heats up this weekend.