Men's Volleyball: Princeton rebounds for easy four-game victory

Princeton (4-4 overall, 1-1 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tait Division) survived another slow start for its third straight win, a 33-35, 30-23, 30-24, 30-25 decision over Rutgers-Newark (3-5, 2-0 EIVA Hay) at Dillon Gymnasium. The Tigers were the decidedly better team, but the Scarlet Raiders clawed to a first-set victory to pressure the hosts in front of the home fans.

“We came out flat. We’ve been coming out flat lately,” senior setter and captain Brandon Denham said. “We knew we were a much better team.”

Princeton faced a similar situation on Tuesday, when it dropped the first set against NYU before powering through the next three for a four-game victory.

“Like the first game against NYU, we were just a little asleep,” senior outside hitter Phil Rosenberg said. “But we definitely stepped up when we needed to.”

Rosenberg led the Tigers’ attack, recording 18 kills and six aces. Junior rightside hitter Carl Hamming picked up 14 kills, while senior middle blocker Mike Vincent and sophomore outside hitter Vincent Tuminelli had 13 each. Denham led all players with 57 assists, with Tuminelli and senior libero Ka’ohu Berg-Hee each notching nine digs.

Even in the opening loss, Princeton jumped to a 5-1 lead behind the serving of Tuminelli and good team passing and defense. Rutgers quickly came back to tie the game at nine, but neither team led by more than two points for the remainder of the first game.

The Tigers had two chances to take the opening frame: Vincent and Denham combined for two huge blocks in one point to take a 31-30 lead, and junior middle Jeff McCown took advantage of a bad Rutgers pass to kill for 33-32. Each time, Princeton failed to put the visitors away, and the Scarlet Raiders employed timely blocking to take a 1-0 match lead.

Both Rutgers-Newark and NYU are in the Hay Division, the lower of the two divisions in the EIVA, but Denham maintains that the Tigers’ poor first-game play had nothing to do with the opponents.

“It’s not playing down to people,” Denham said. “It’s just playing poorly regardless because it’s the first game.”

Rosenberg’s serving propelled Princeton to an early lead in the second game, and a powerful block by Tuminelli stretched the lead to 7-3. Rutgers closed the gap to 17-15, but Princeton then took eight of the next 10 points to stretch its lead to 25-17. A service error by Rutgers ended the game 30-23 in favor of the Tigers, who hit .533 for the frame compared to .219 in the opener.

The third and fourth games saw more of the same for both teams. In the third, Princeton crept out to a five-point lead and easily withstood all the comeback attempts. One of match’s most exciting points came late in the third set, as Princeton repelled attack after attack with both digs and blocks. The point ended when Denham put up a stunning solo block on a Rutgers outside hitter to cement a 28-20 lead, which Princeton held for a 30-24 third-set win.

Rosenberg led the way in the fourth game, serving the Tigers to six straight points for an early advantage. Rutgers fought back to 23-21, but several big blocks by Hamming and a final decisive kill from Tuminelli sent the Scarlet Raiders’ buses back up Route 1 with a loss in hand.

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The final three games were a comprehensive team effort from Princeton, which, after a third straight win, seems to be hitting its stride as EIVA play heats up.

“We’re playing well together,” Rosenberg said. “We were struggling earlier on in the season, but things are coming together well now.”

The Tigers travel Tuesday to Newark to take on the New Jersey Institute of Technology, which knocked Princeton from the EIVA quarterfinals a season ago but has yet to win a Tait Division game so far this season.