Seniors Carl Hamming and Jeff McCown, co-captains of the men’s volleyball team, have had an eventful week. Not only are the two dealing with the stresses of senior year, but with a postseason spot on the line, a struggling team looked to its seniors to deliver.
And deliver they did, but not without the element of dramatic finishes that has characterized many of the Tigers’ games this season. The duo led Princeton (11-9 overall, 5-5 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) to a 3-0 victory against George Mason (7-17, 4-5), 30-21, 32-30, 30-22, after dropping a five-setter to Juniata (9-13, 3-7) the night before, 27-30, 25-30, 30-24, 30-29, 15-13.
The Tigers always seem to make it exciting for their fans. In their nine matches at Dillon Gymnasium this season, seven have been five-set matches. Only one of those was a loss, which came last Wednesday to Stevens Institute of Technology.
“We tried to view [the Stevens Tech match] as a wake-up call,” McCown said.
After Wednesday, the Tigers needed just one win from their two road games to clinch a position in the EIVA playoffs. The game against Juniata began as a similar story, with Juniata winning the first two games before a Princeton comeback forced a fifth game. But unlike the March 6 matchup, it ended with Princeton on the wrong side of the upset.
The Eagles pulled away late in the first game, when a kill by outside hitter Chris Vrooman put Juniata ahead by two and forced a Princeton timeout. For the rest of the game, the Tigers remained one or two points behind until a kill by Juniata’s outside hitter Zach Wanner finished the game.
Juniata jumped ahead 4-0 early in game two, and Princeton never gained the lead. The margin slipped to 25-19 late in the game. Consecutive kills from junior outside hitter Vincent Tuminelli on assists from sophomore setter Scott Liljestrom were not enough, though, and the Eagles extended their lead to two games. Tuminelli would end the game with 17 kills, 12 digs and 10 blocks, while Liljestrom would contribute 13 digs and 61 assists.
“After we lost the first two sets, we were still able to mount a comeback and rally to force a fifth game,” Hamming said.
In a style true to their fashion this season, kills from Hamming and Tuminelli found the Tigers ahead 21-14 late in the third game. Princeton then saw back-to-back kills from McCown on Liljestrom sets to put a game on the board.
The fourth game was more exciting, with Princeton not grabbing the lead until a double block from Tuminelli and freshman middle blocker Michael Dye tied the score at 29. A Tuminelli kill and a service ace by Liljestrom won the game and forced the match to five.
Princeton was never able to gain the lead in the fifth set, though, and despite three kills from Hamming that pulled the Tigers to within a point, a kill from the Eagles ended hopes of victory.
This would set the stage for the dominating attitude the Tigers brought to the court on Sunday against George Mason. Princeton quickly went up 3-0 in the first game and never surrendered the lead, winning the game by nine points.
George Mason attempted to make the match more competitive in the second set, with 14 ties and five lead changes. The Patriots went up late in the set, 29-28, but a Hamming kill tied the score and consecutive kills from McCown put the Tigers up 31-30. The two hit .559 and .250, respectively, and together contributed more than half of the Tigers’ 46 kills.
Despite efforts from the Patriots, Princeton never trailed in the third set.
“We knew that we had to step up for the final push into the playoffs,” Hamming said. “Since we had just played Mason a week ago, they expected us to use the same game plan, but Scott [Liljestrom] mixed it up.”
The Tigers finished the 2009 season sixth out of seven teams in the EIVA Tait Division. This year, they have at least one win against every team but top-ranked and undefeated Penn State. The Tigers will play the quarterfinal match at Dillon on April 24.
“It is a lot of fun to win in five in front of the hometown fans,” Hamming said. “We’re just glad to be in the playoffs with the opportunity to win a T-shirt if we get to the EIVA final four.
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