Men's Volleyball: Princeton loses home finale 3-0 to formidable EIVA foe Penn State

Princeton (9-11, 3-8 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tait Division) had just come off a tough five-set loss to St. Francis (14-12, 7-5) and was not up to the challenge of playing against powerhouse Penn State (23-3, 12-0), a team that hadn’t dropped a single set within the conference all year and is currently ranked No. 7 in the nation.

In a sport where height plays a substantial role, the Tigers were faced with the towering task of having to contend with opponents who were taller than them at almost every position.

The Tigers’ starting six, excluding six-foot, three-inch senior libero Ka’ohu Berg-Hee, averaged a height of a little less than 6’5’’.

The average height of Penn State’s six was an inch-and-a-half greater than Princeton’s.

“The size differential played a major factor in the match because not only were we faced with hitting around a larger block, but they were able to just hit straight over our block a lot of the time,” sophomore outside hitter Vincent Tuminelli said.

In addition to the height differential, Penn State held an important mental advantage over Princeton going into Friday’s game.

The Nittany Lions are the reigning NCAA champions, and they expect to win every time they step onto the court, especially when the team they’re facing is the Orange and Black.

Penn State has not lost to the Tigers in more than 10 years — not since the EIVA semifinals in 1998 — and it recently defeated Princeton in three consecutive games at University Park.

Despite Princeton’s home- court advantage last Friday, a large contingency of loyal Penn State fans traveled to Dillon Gymnasium to support their team, making the general atmosphere of the match more comfortable for the Penn State squad.

Princeton was frustrated all night by the physical dominance of Penn State’s squad, which became apparent early on in the match.

Penn State had a hitting percentage of .538 in the first set, compared with the eight kills and nine errors that resulted in a negative hitting percentage for Princeton.

After leading 9-6 early in the first game, Penn State then went on a seven-point run to extend the margin to 10. The Nittany Lions ultimately won that game handily 30-16.

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“I think Friday’s game showed us that we need to pass better throughout the entire match to prevent the opposing team from going on runs,” Tuminelli said. “We also need to continue to serve hard but have to make more of each serve.”

The second set started out at ansintense back-and-forth battle with several kills and errors on both sides. At one point the game was knotted at 10.

But once again, Penn State caught fire, ultimately going on several runs to take the game 30-19.

The Nittany Lions cruised on the strength of several more runs in the third set to win the game 30-18 and the match 3-0.

Senior outside hitter Phil Rosenberg led Princeton with eight kills and a service ace. Juniors middle blocker Jeff McCown and rightside hitter Carl Hamming picked up five kills each.

“Not only do we need to improve in pretty much every aspect of the game the next time we play them, but we especially need to improve our ability to focus and come out confident and aggressive against a team like that,” Hamming said.

Hamming was particularly concerned about the Tigers’ inability to control Penn State’s strong service game, something Princeton will have to adjust as it prepares for its upcoming game against at George Mason.

“Playing Penn State should help us prepare for Mason because they both run similar offenses. They both try to score points by emphasizing their serving and blocking,” ? Hamming said. “They both like to run real quick offenses, rarely giving the middle blocker time to close blocks on the pins.”

Princeton will look to finish its regular season on a high note against George Mason on April 17. But the Tigers can begin to look ahead as they have already clinched a spot in the EIVA playoffs.