Princeton drops two straight

The team has now lost three games in a row, with its last two losses coming against teams it could have beaten in NYU (20-6, 7-1 EIVA Hay) and local foe NJIT (11-12, 4-7 EIVA Tait).

Against NYU, junior middle blocker Mike Vincent was unavailable after suffering an injury during practice. Without Vincent, the Tigers failed to pick up a single game against the Violets and lost by scores of 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27.

Now, with only three games left until the end of the regular season, the Tigers will need to step up their performance to gear up for the playoffs.

“We kind of threw the game away,” junior setter Brandon Denham said. “We haven’t had a game in a while [before NYU] and it showed.”

Princeton never lost a single game by more than three points, but crucial errors prevented the team from winning a game that was easily in hand. The Highlanders played like a team hungry for a victory and were rewarded with lackluster play from the Tigers.

“[The long break] definitely had an impact,” Denham said. “It’s hard to stay focused when you don’t have a game for three weeks. We did a little better today but it wasn’t good enough.”

The Highlanders came out hot, with victories in the first two games keyed by the play of outside hitter Leonard Paludo, who had nine aces during the match. NJIT spread the ball around effectively, with four players recording double digits in kills compared to only two Tigers.

“They had a very hot server,” Denham said.

But Princeton would not relent, not backing down without a fight. The Tigers came back fiercely in the third game, taking it 30-21. They continued their good play into the fourth to tie the match at two and force a tiebreaker fifth game.

Unfortunately for Princeton, it was not meant to be. NJIT continued its solid play and did not let the game slip away during the extra game. The Highlanders kept their cool under pressure, pulling away on their Senior Night to win the last game 15-13 and leave a hungry Princeton team sorely disappointed.

The Tigers will now get back to the basics in practice, with a key game coming up Friday against Juniata. The match will be crucial to determining who will hold home-court advantage for the EIVA quarterfinals. Princeton has already clinched a playoff spot, but it certainly wants to battle for the highest seed possible.

“We’re definitely in the playoffs,” Denham said. “We just need to focus on the next couple of games and try to win a few.”

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Princeton will want to build on the play of Vincent, who returned to the starting lineup and led the team with 14 kills. Junior outside hitter Phil Rosenberg also had an outstanding offensive and defensive game, with 11 kills and 11 digs. Denham recorded 44 assists and 10 digs to add to his team-high assist total for the year. Prior to last night’s game, Denham led all Tigers with 749 assists.

“We have a home game on Friday against Juniata — we want to win that one and win one on the road against George Mason,” Denham said. “[Then we want to] make a run and hopefully play in the EIVA title game.”

High hopes for a team that has lost three in a row, but Princeton is a team that has performed its very best when it has most needed to and shows no sign of letting up before the playoffs. The Tigers begin their playoff push at home this Friday against Juniata at 7 p.m.