Men's Volleyball: Tuminelli leads inspired comeback on 21st birthday

The men’s volleyball team played a thriller in front of its home crowd on Saturday, topping Juniata in a Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Tait Division game at Dillon Gymnasium. The Tigers (6-5 overall, 2-2 EIVA Tait Division) came back from a two-game deficit to top the Eagles (5-8, 1-4) in an intense five-game match by a score of 31-33, 27-30, 30-24, 30-23, 15-13.

Princeton got off to a good start with a defining kill and ace by senior middle blocker Jeff McCown, who finished the match with 19 kills. It was not long, however, before Juniata responded with a coordinated defense effort. Neither team was able to keep the ball for long before Juniata went on a four-point run that put it ahead 23-22 for the team’s first lead in the game. Despite Princeton calling a timeout, a rejuvenated Juniata team returned to the court and found the holes in the Princeton defense, winning the opening game 33-31.

Neither Princeton nor Juniata was able to get into a dominating rhythm during the second game. The back-and-forth play saw strong offense efforts from the entire team, but Princeton failed to prevent Juniata from scoring.

“As a team, our strength is our ability to spread the ball around on offense and side out,” McCown said. “We have a bunch of talented hitters at every position. I think we need to improve upon our blocking and defense. We’ve been working on that a lot in practice, and hopefully, we will see some improved play in that aspect of our game soon.”

Freshman outside hitter Pat Schwagler — who contributed a double-double of 13 kills and 14 digs — tried to push the Tigers ahead mid-game. Despite this gritty effort, Princeton dropped the second game by a narrow margin of three points.

While most teams would let a 2-0 margin depress their final efforts, Princeton refused to give up. After starting the third game 1-4, sophomore setter Scott Liljestrom continued to do an excellent job of serving and setting up his teammates, who fired spikes down on Juniata to pull to a 7-4 lead. Senior outside hitter Carl Hamming’s serving continued the Tigers’ run and extended the lead to a deficit Juniata would never close. Hamming also contributed a double-double of 19 kills and 14 digs, and he added four blocks. Liljestrom would set up junior outside hitter Vincent Tuminelli — who celebrated his 21st birthday in style — for three kills to end the game.

“We knew that we could not let Juniata creep back into each game once we had built a lead,” Tuminelli said. “We didn’t let up, maintaining our focus until we knew the match was ours.”

Liljestrom agreed with his teammate. “We gained a sense of urgency in the third, fourth and fifth games, where we decided we weren’t going to lose,” he said.

The reenergized Tigers showed up in force for the last two games as a coordinated team effort denied Juniata victory. Freshman middle blocker Michael Dye’s serving and kills from Tuminelli and McCown gave Princeton a 15-9 lead in the fourth game. The Eagles were never able to pull close, and the Tigers won decisively, 30-23.

The Princeton fans were on their feet in force for the final game, in which the Tigers were able to set a faster game pace that they used to their advantage. Spurred by the fans and their own intensity on the court, the Tigers won a hard-fought 15-point battle with more impressive setting from Liljestrom. After a game-winning serve from Hamming that ricocheted off the hands of a Juniata player, the gym exploded in celebration.

“The passing was very good and consistent throughout the match, which helped us get into a rhythm on offense and take control of the game,” said Liljestrom, who finished with 79 assists.

The team was pleased with the win.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

“Our main team goal is to make it to the EIVA finals,” Schwagler said in an e-mail. “We know it’s a really tough goal since the division is so competitive this year, but anything is possible, and every game is crucial to getting us to the finals. I think we’ve been conditioning pretty hard all season, and it’s really paying off, especially at the end of our games.”

Princeton faces Springfield College on Friday at 7 p.m. in Dillon for its next divisional game.