“It felt good,” senior outside hitter and captain Peter Eichler said. “We had a poor performance on Tuesday and a fine one on Wednesday. … It was good to win in three against Juniata.”
Princeton started off confidently in the first game, holding Juniata to a .172 hitting percentage. The Tigers coasted from there and ended up winning 30-20.
The second game was close early on, as the teams traded points up to a tie at seven. A net-touch call and a costly hit out of bounds by junior middle blocker Mike Vincent cost the Tigers, bringing the score to 11-9. At that point, head coach Glenn Nelson called a crucial timeout; Princeton returned energized and tied the game at 11.
Crucial blocks were the key to the Tigers’ success as they retook the lead, 17-15. In addition, Princeton was helped by a questionable call by the referee in its favor that gave the Tigers a 20-17 lead.
The Eagles came back and capitalized on several Princeton mistakes to tie the game at 25. The Tigers finished the game on a hot streak, however, winning 30-27 to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Princeton’s players were especially motivated heading into the third and final game.
“We had to win in three games … for the tiebreaker [over Juniata],” Eichler said. Games won versus games lost is used in playoff seedings should two teams be level on record.
The Tigers started off the third game well, taking an intense third point to begin the game with a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately for Princeton, a terrible call against the Tigers enabled Juniata to tie the game at six. Fired up by the injustice, the Tigers played hard and defused the Eagles’ momentum on a great block from junior setter Brandon Denham that gave Tigers a 10-7 lead.
Princeton would then take advantage of several crucial serving errors to bring its lead to 13-10. Vincent stopped a Juniata comeback with a huge block that brought the score to 15-14 and soon added another, making the score 16-15 after a missed serve.
Service errors were numerous on both sides, with Juniata committing two in a row and crippling its chances of coming back. Unfortunately for the Tigers, their own service game prevented them from pulling away, with Denham knocking an easy spike out the back and allowing the Eagles to tie the game at 21.
Juniata would then gain the upper hand, aided by another service error, this one by Eichler. With a 26-23 lead, however, the Eagles played passively and allowed Princeton to tie the game at 26. The Tigers would not relent, taking Juniata to the brink at 29-28 and again at 30-29 after another service error. A block by sophomore outside hitter Carl Hamming would finish off the Eagles, 31-29.
“We have to rest up for a day or two, and then we have senior night on Tuesday,” Eichler said.
The Tigers have already clinched a playoff spot but are looking to solidify their position. In the EIVA tournament, the top six teams from the Tait Division and the top two from the Hay division make the playoffs. Princeton is currently in third place in the Tait Division, having clinched a first-round bye and a tiebreaker over Juniata. The Tigers are now in control of their own destiny: If they beat conference doormat East Stroudsburg on Tuesday and George Mason on Friday, they will be guaranteed no less than third place. In fact, two wins this week coupled with a George Mason loss to NJIT would put the Tigers in second place and give them byes for the first two rounds.
“I think we can play with George Mason,” Eichler said. “A win there would be huge for us.”
The final push for the playoffs ends this week. The Tigers will face off against East Stroudsburg at Dillon Gym at 7 p.m. Tuesday and will finish off the regular season away from home against George Mason.
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