Last weekend, the men’s volleyball team secured a berth in Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association postseason play. This weekend, the Tigers (13-9 overall, 5-5 EIVA) proved their readiness by defeating Rutgers-Newark (13-12) in five sets.
Princeton went up early in the first set, extending its lead to 7-3. The Tigers remained in the lead until two consecutive attack errors from senior outside hitter Carl Hamming left the score tied. Princeton rallied after a timeout and regained the lead. Serving from freshman outside hitter Pat Schwagler, including an ace, extended the lead to 25-21. Rutgers was able to rally, though, tying the game at 26-26. An attack error by Schwagler found the Tigers down 29-28, and a block by the Raiders ended the game in Rutgers-Newark’s favor, 30-28.
It looked as if the second set would be even closer, as the first few points went back and forth between the Tigers and the Raiders. But sophomore setter Scott Liljestrom had something different in mind.
“We have to give a lot of credit to Scott for our match on Saturday,” head coach Sam Shweisky said. “He distributed the ball very well, setting the tone for the match.”
Liljestrom set up freshman middle blocker Mike Dye for a kill to get the side out and tie the game at 4-4. This would bring Liljestrom to the service line, where he helped the Tigers extend their lead to 8-4 with two consecutive service aces, creating a turning point that found Princeton ahead until the end. Hamming would also draw two service aces against the Raiders as senior middle blocker Jeff McCown and Dye each contributed four kills to the team’s overall hitting percentage of .600 for the set. The Tigers won easily, 30-14, tying the match at one game apiece.
Rutgers-Newark would not give up so easily, though, and three consecutive kills put the Raiders up 9-6 in the following set. They would hold on to the lead for the rest of the game, despite five kills from junior outside hitter Vincent Tuminelli.
The Tigers again rallied in the fourth set, opening 3-0 and never dropping the lead. Both Schwagler and Tuminelli contributed seven kills. Though Rutgers-Newark recovered to tie the penultimate set at 27-27, a kill from Schwagler ended the game and gave Princeton a 30-28 lead. Schwagler finished with a double-double of 12 kills and 10 digs.
Shweisky gave credit to his entire offense.
“Vinny [Tuminelli], Carl, as well as our three freshmen [Dye, Schwagler and libero Sean Cotter] — everyone has done their part to pick things up,” Shweisky said. “The balance of our offense is a huge strength.”
Going to a fifth set is nothing new to the Tigers, and they proved this in dominating fashion, winning 15-7 and hitting a season-best .800 in the final game. McCown rallied his team to a 2-0 start on both a solo block and a kill. Liljestrom’s serving increased Princeton’s lead from 5-3 to 9-3. Tuminelli contributed another six kills to add to his match total of 25 and hitting percentage of .553, which Shweisky said was “unheard of” for an outside hitter.
It would prove impossible for the Raiders to overcome such a deficit, and an attack error by Rutgers-Newark ended the game on a serve from senior outside hitter Dave Hughes.
This game concluded regular season play for the Tigers, whose record of 13-9 is an improvement over last year’s losing season of 11-12. The Tigers will host Sacred Heart this Saturday at Dillon Gymnasium for the quarterfinal match of the EIVA playoffs.
“We’re second in the league [heading into the EIVA playoffs], but it was a very tight finish that came down to a lot of five-set matches,” Shweisky said. “We’re looking at our next match one step at a time. That philosophy has helped us get where we are, and we’re going to stick to that philosophy.”
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