Men's Volleyball: Vincent unstoppable in dramatic comeback

After taking nine of the final 12 points to win the fourth set 30-25, St. Francis (5-3, 2-2) was up 13-9 in the fifth, only two points away from banishing Princeton’s comeback effort into futility. But senior middle Mike Vincent took over, putting up two huge blocks and three kills to set up a match point for the Tigers. Junior rightside Carl Hamming smashed an ace to complete the 26-30, 28-30, 38-36, 30-25, 15-13 win.

“Our newly found mental resilience came through,” senior setter and captain Brandon Denham said. “It’s so rare that one player [Vincent] can dominate a game like he did, just because in volleyball so many other players have to touch the ball, but what he did was amazing.”

“Mike Vincent was truly inspiring,” senior outside hitter Harsha Dante said. “That’s the best performance I’ve ever seen. He single-handedly won that game for us.”

It was a happy ending for Princeton, which a day earlier fell 34-32, 30-26, 30-19 to Juniata (4-2, 2-1). St. Francis also split the weekend, defeating the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Friday.

Princeton’s middle blockers carried the load against St. Francis, with Vincent recording 21 kills on .704 hitting and McCown tossing in 15 kills on .444 hitting. Denham provided 68 assists on the team’s 75 kills, and senior libero Ka’ohu Berg-Hee led the defense with 13 digs. As a team, the Tigers hit .292.

By comparison, all but Vincent struggled against Juniata. The six-foot, nine-inch middle hit .429 with 12 kills, but no other player hit above .176. McCown and Rosenberg were next best, each finishing with seven kills. As a team, Princeton hit a mere .075 against the Eagles.

“We just weren’t prepared,” Denham said. “We just played poorly.”

The opening game against Juniata was by far the most competitive, with 27 ties and eight lead changes. The Tigers’ largest lead of the first frame was 20-17, while the Eagles never led by more than two points. Princeton had game points three times, but three straight Juniata points — including two blocks by Dan Follett and Dan Powers — allowed Juniata to take the game 34-32 and the momentum.

“If we had won that first game, things might have gone differently,” Denham said. “But we didn’t, and things just happen.”

Juniata built a huge advantage in the second game, at one time leading by nine after reeling off 12 of 15 points, but Princeton won seven straight points behind Rosenberg’s strong serving to narrow the difference to two. The teams traded points thereafter, and the hosts held on for a 30-26 win.

The third set was all Juniata, which used runs of five and seven consecutive points to get a comfortable 30-19 match-clinching victory.

Princeton could be forgiven for thinking Saturday’s contest to be a continuation of Friday’s, as St. Francis used a few key runs to take the opening set, 30-26. Princeton established an early five-point lead, but the Red Flash quickly squared the set at 13. St. Francis was slightly more consistent over the remainder of the set, holding off a late Princeton run and killing off the set, 30-26.

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The Tigers found themselves down late in the second game, but they reeled off six of seven points to take a one-point advantage at 25-24. With the score level at 28, kills from Nick Rivett and Alex Fortney propelled the Red Flash to a two-point win and set the stage for what could have been a heartbreaking setback for Princeton. What ensued, however, were the third-, fourth- and fifth-set theatrics for the comeback win.

“At that point [after the second game], we were a little frustrated, and things could have gone as they did against Juniata,” Denham said. “But we do have a lot of seniors on this team, so it’s not like this is the first or last time we’ve been down 2-0.”

Princeton, after playing its first six games on the road, has its home opener against NYU on Tuesday night at Dillon Gym. The Violets play in the EIVA’s lower division, but the Tigers aren’t taking them lightly.

“I think they’ll be pretty tough,” Denham said.