Men's Volleyball: Tigers fall to Tait rival George Mason

“We played well [Friday] night, but we’re not there yet,” senior outside hitter Phil Rosenberg said.

The weekend started well for Princeton (6-7 overall, 2-4 EIVA Tait), as it topped Division III opponent Stevens Tech (16-5) at Dillon Gymnasium and rebounded from a pair of losses two weekends ago.

Initially, though, it appeared that the Tigers might be doomed to their third loss in a row. Princeton held leads of 12-6 and 15-9 early in the first game, but the Ducks charged back, eventually tying the game up at 20.

From there, Stevens Tech pulled away from Princeton and came away with a 30-27 win in the first game.

In the second game, after battling early to a tie at 15, the Tigers took five of the next six points to bring the score to 20-16. A subsequent 3-1 run inched Princeton closer to the coveted 30-point mark. While Stevens Tech scored three points late to cut the deficit to three at 25-22, the Tigers held on for a 30-25 victory and tied the match at one.

To no one’s surprise, the third game was just as intense as the first two, with Stevens Tech holding leads of 19-16 and 20-18.

But Princeton showed its mettle, turning out an impressive five-point run that gave the Tigers a 23-20 lead.

After giving up two points to the Ducks, Princeton won five of the next seven points to bring the score to 28-24, with the last two points coming on a pair of Rosenberg kills.

Stevens Tech attempted a comeback, but a vicious kill from senior middle blocker Mike Vincent closed out the game 30-28.

It appeared as if the match might go to five games in the middle of the fourth game, as Stevens Tech led 18-12, but from then on it was all Princeton. The Tigers scored 18 of the last 24 points to come away with a 30-24 victory in the game and the 3-1 win in the match.

Junior middle blocker Jeff McCown led the team in kills with 17, while junior rightside hitter Carl Hamming and sophomore outside hitter Vincent Tuminelli were tied for the team lead in digs with 11 apiece.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, Saturday’s match against George Mason (8-5, 3-3) turned out much differently. The first two games did not go the way Princeton would have liked, as it quickly found itself in a 2-0 hole after 30-26 and 30-21 defeats. Though the Tigers remained close for the first half of each opening games, the Patriots dominated in the second frame. In that game, George Mason had four runs of four or more points each. Though Princeton played better towards the game’s end, it could not overcome the deep deficit it faced.

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“We let them get on too many runs,” Rosenberg said. “We’re better than [George Mason].”

But the Tigers proved that they would not go down without a fight in the third game, keeping it close the entire way. A Rosenberg kill brought the game to a tie at 15, and Princeton battled back against George Mason leads of 18-15 and 23-19 to keep its hopes alive.

A four-point run keyed by kills from Rosenberg and Vincent and helped by a bad Patriot set brought the score to 24-all.

The teams traded points from there until the score was tied at 30. The Tigers claimed a 32-30 third-game victory on a Hamming block and a George Mason error.

The fourth game, however, was a reprise of the second, and the Patriots capped off their 3-1 victory in the match.

Again, the Tigers never seriously challenged the Patriots, giving up runs of six points, four points and three points in dropping the game 30-26.

Princeton now sits in second-to-last place in the EIVA Tait Division, two games ahead of winless New Jersey Institute of Technology.

The Tigers will aim to get back on track on Friday in Dillon Gymnasium against Harvard.

The Crimson are currently on a two-game winning streak, with a pair of recent victories over Rutgers-Newark on March 6 and NJIT on March 7.

Harvard faces Endicott at home before heading to Princeton to take on the Tigers. Hopefully Princeton can make up for its loss to George Mason and record a win against the streaking Crimson.