Men's Volleyball: Tigers lose in fifth set to Red Flash

St. Francis (14-12 overall, 7-5 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tait Division) fought off a late Princeton (9-10, 3-7) rally for a 22-30, 30-26, 30-26, 30-22, 15-13 victory.

“It stinks,” junior middle blocker Jeff McCown said. “They worked hard for it. I understand exactly how they feel right now, but at the same time, this gives us fuel for the playoffs.”

St. Francis jumped out to an early lead in the fifth game, forcing head coach Glenn Nelson to call a timeout with the Tigers down 7-3. Senior middle blocker Mike Vincent, the hero two months ago against St. Francis, nearly played the same role again, coming up with consecutive blocks to pull the Tigers to within one. The Red Flash stretched the lead back to three, but kills from McCown, sophomore outside hitter Vinny Tuminelli and senior outside hitter Phil Rosenberg knotted the game at 13.

This time, however, St. Francis responded with two kills — the match-clinching one landing on the line — to exact revenge.

“The fifth game is really a coin flip,” Rosenberg said. “On the whole we played alright.”

The game had no bearing on the EIVA playoffs, as Princeton clinched a berth with its win Tuesday over NJIT. As bad as this loss feels for the Tigers, the last two games have featured improved play since a midseason slump.

“We’ve struggled at times this season,” Rosenberg said. “But now, all the seniors have finished their theses. We’re all a lot more rested now, and we’re ready to push in the playoffs.”

The first game was tight up until 16-16 after St. Francis had jumped to an early lead. Keyed by kills from Vincent and McCown and good blocking of St. Francis attempts, the Tigers went on a 12-4 run punctuated by an uncontested slam by McCown. The teams traded points, and Princeton held on for a 30-22 win.

The Tigers led 15-12 midway through the second game, but St. Francis tied the game at 20 after a stretch of good blocking and consistent attack from its outside hitters. The game included many service errors from both teams, but the Red Flash continued to build their lead to 28-23. Appropriately, the game ended on a Princeton service error for a 30-26 St. Francis win.

The third game proved to be just as close. The teams traded leads, with Princeton receiving big kills from McCown, Vincent and Rosenberg. But St. Francis won three decisive points for a 20-16 lead that it never relinquished. Leading 17-16, the Red Flash won two straight long rallies, as both teams hit the floor multiple times to dig opposing attacks. On the next point, St. Francis easily blocked what appeared to be a tired, dejected Princeton attack. The Red Flash held on to win its second straight 30-26 game.

The Tigers rebounded from the third-game loss with a quick start to the fourth, opening up a 9-1 lead. The game belonged to left-handed senior outside hitter Carl Hamming, who combined big hitting with consistent serving to quash any Red Flash rally. His ace delivered the game point for the home side, and Vincent followed with an uncontested finish for the 30-22 win, setting up the fifth-set theatrics.

Aside from Penn State at the top and NJIT at the bottom, the middle five teams in the EIVA Tait Division are evenly matched, meaning that if the Tigers get hot at the right time, they could easily make a run in the playoffs.

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“The No. 2 team in the league is Juniata, and they barely beat us in five games just like this,” Rosenberg said.

As long as Princeton is consistent in its serves — something that has not always been the case this season — it can take down anybody in the league, McCown explained.

“I think we can play with anyone,” he said. “It’s just a question of mental toughness.”

Princeton returns to action tonight in its final home game of the season against league-leader Penn State.