Men's Volleyball: Raiders routed in 3-0 sweep

This summed up the game nicely: It was awkward at times, but Princeton was clearly better than Rutgers.

In the first round of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) playoffs, the Tigers swept Rutgers 30-26, 30-27, 30-22 in Glenn Nelson’s last home game as head coach.

“Once we started making serves, we did all right,” Hamming said. “We just had to get a little momentum, which can be a little hard sometimes.”

As the team in the EIVA Hay Division with the best regular-season record, Rutgers earned the right to play Princeton, the sixth seed in the Tait Division, in the first round of the playoffs.

But despite Rutgers’ strong recent form against its lower-division opponents, the Scarlet Raiders had neither the size nor skill to compete with Princeton.

Senior outside hitter Phil Rosenberg led all players with 11 kills.

Princeton’s middle blockers, senior Mike Vincent and junior Jeff McCown, hit 10 and nine kills, respectively, while Hamming also finished with nine.

The Tigers hit .322 for the match to Rutgers’ .192, including a whopping .471 in the third frame. Princeton’s Achilles’ heel — serving — came out again last night, as the Tigers missed 17 serves, leading to nearly a quarter of all Rutgers’ points.

The Tigers’ captain, senior setter Brandon Denham, was hampered by a wrist injury that he suffered Friday against George Mason in a collision with senior libero Ka’ohu Berg-Hee. Denham had the wrist wrapped before Wednesday’s game, limiting its rotation and affecting his ability to set.

The injury did not prove to be too limiting, however, as he led all players with 40 assists.

“I actually set alright Friday and today,” Denham said. “It just hurts really, really bad.”

The first game started close, with neither team looking great, but Rutgers was distinctly more fired up, celebrating after every point.

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Princeton struggled in serving, and at 19-16 the Scarlet Raiders held their biggest lead of the game.

It didn’t last long, however, and a Hamming ace and a Rutgers net violation gave Princeton a 23-21 lead it did not relinquish.

The Tigers led throughout the second game, leading by as many as five points, but Rutgers tied the game at 23 after good blocking against Princeton’s outside hitters.

But the hosts quickly regained the lead after an easy putaway by McCown, a Rutgers attempt that landed at least 15 feet out of bounds and a crosscourt kill from the left side by Rosenberg. A weak Rutgers effort into the net ended the game at 30-27.

While the two games that began the match were close, Princeton cruised in clinching the third game and the match.

Leading 4-3, Princeton won five straight points, including a vicious one-on-one block and a kill on the next point by Rosenberg, who stands at five feet, 11 inches. Rutgers never again got within five, and Princeton led by as many nine.

The win sets up a quarterfinal matchup with third-seeded Saint Francis, with which Princeton split the regular-season series in two five-game barnburners.

“It’s a big rubber match,” Hamming said. “We’re evenly matched, so it’ll probably come down to serving and receiving.”

Saint Francis most often runs two attackers on the right side, but after two matches, the Tigers should not be surprised by anything the Red Flash throws at them.

“We know where they’re going,” Denham said. “It’ll come down to me and Carl blocking their best player, but we’ve done it before.”