Injuries, rust hit Tigers in defeat

Junior middle blocker Mike Vincent, one of the team’s key players all season, injured himself in practice on Monday. Though freshman middle blocker Keenan McCarthy played admirably in his place, the switch in the lineup without sufficient practice made for a difficult evening.

“Keenan played well, but we just had to switch lineups,” sophomore outside hitter Carl Hamming said. “[Sophomore middle blocker] Jeff [McCown] played in a different rotation, so it just changed everything a little.”

Senior outside hitter and captain Peter Eichler led Princeton with 16 kills, with Hamming next at nine. Junior setter Brandon Denham recorded 33 assists, while McCarthy’s .444 hitting percentage led the visiting Tigers.

NYU jumped out to an early 9-5 lead in the first game and maintained a similar margin for much of the game. The Tigers mounted a miniature comeback after trailing 18-12, rattling off five straight points, and later tied the score at 21. Princeton was unable to capitalize on this momentum, as NYU used some clutch frontcourt play from outside hitter Devin Zolnowski to take the first game, 30-26.

During their seven-game winning streak earlier this season, the Tigers made a habit of gutting out close wins against conference opponents. It appeared as though Princeton might resume this trend in the second game, as it went back and forth with the Violets until the score was tied at 25.

At this point, the negative effects of the Tigers’ long layoff began to show. NYU rattled off five of the next six points to take the game 30-26.

“We had a lot of rust to shake off,” Hamming said. “We were not in rhythm after such a long break.”

Princeton was able to keep the third game close after the Violets rushed out to another early lead, this time 10-6. But try as they might, the Tigers were unable to turn the game around against NYU. Middle blocker Jonathan Wintermeyer ended the match with his 18th kill of the game, giving the Violets a 30-27 victory.

Throughout the game, the Tigers struggled to find the form that enabled them to go toe-to-toe with some of the nation’s best teams earlier in the season.

“Our blocking was also bad,” Hamming said. “Our timing was just off, and we struggled all over the place.”

Often, the best way to overcome a difficult loss is to turn around and play another game the next day. Princeton will have that opportunity tonight, when the team travels to Newark to take on conference rival NJIT. In their 24-hour volleyball respite, the Tigers will need to figure out how to replace Vincent, their six-foot, nine-inch pillar in the middle.

“We definitely need to improve our passing for tomorrow,” Hamming said. “We didn’t pass well and didn’t run too much of an offense.”

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Some of the Tigers’ uncharacteristic inconsistent play can be attributed to their long layoff, but this is another obstacle Princeton will need to conquer to return to its winning ways. The Tigers play three more games in the upcoming week and need to play well to maintain their third-place standing in the EIVA Tait Division.

“Tomorrow, we know we have a conference match and will have to step up the intensity,” Hamming said. “I think we’ll play a much better overall game.”