Men's Volleyball: Tigers win first set but drop EIVA opener

Things started well for the men’s volleyball team on Friday, which opened Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play against Rutgers-Newark (7-0 overall, 1-0 EIVA Tait Division) with a win in the first set. However, despite the 25-21 start, the Tigers (1-3, 0-1) dropped the final three sets to the Scarlet Raiders, 25-19, 25-18 and 25-20.

Attack errors in the first set gave Princeton an early 7-4 lead on serving from freshman setter Davis Waddell. Sophomore outside hitter Pat Schwagler continued the excellent serving and pushed the Tigers’ lead to 12-7 before Rutgers-Newark called a timeout. Despite a rally that brought the Scarlet Raiders to within two points of the Tigers, senior co-captain and outside hitter Vinny Tuminelli hit an ace and forced two attack errors to push the score to 20-13. A kill from Tuminelli ended the match 25-21.

Rutgers-Newark surged forward early in the second set with a service error from Schwagler and block and attack errors by freshman outside hitter Jeff Stapleton. Princeton called a timeout when the Scarlet Raiders went up 6-2 and seemed to rally after a block from sophomore middle blocker Michael Dye. Three kills by Tuminelli, who had 13 total and a .182 hitting percentage on the match, and serves from senior middle blocker and co-captain Keenan McCarthy helped the Tigers tie the score at 11. A back and forth sequence with kills from Stapleton, Dye, and Tuminelli kept the score tied at 15, but a 4-0 run by Rutgers-Newark left Princeton with a deficit it could not overcome. Despite kills from Stapleton and junior setter Scott Liljestrom, the Scarlet Raiders triumphed, 25-19.

Though Princeton started the third set with a 2-1 lead, two runs by Rutgers-Newark gave the hosts an 8-4 lead the Tigers would never reclaim. A service ace by Stapleton and nine kills were the only scores the offense could provide. The majority of Princeton’s points came from attack or service errors by Rutgers-Newark. Liljestrom had a strong performance at setter with seven of his 12 assists coming in the third set but could not outpace Rutgers-Newark’s senior setter Jeff Zornig, who had 42 assists and hit .750. Zornig led his team to a 25-18 finish.

Rutgers-Newark continued to outpace the Tigers in the fourth set thanks to a 7-0 run with serving from Zornig that only ended because of a service error. Serving from Schwagler, including an ace, brought the score to 10-6, and another ace from Stapleton pulled Princeton to within three points. A 6-1 run from the Scarlet Raiders forced Princeton to take a timeout at 17-9, but Schwagler stepped to the line again and rallied to make the score 21-18. The effort was not enough, however, and Rutgers-Newark ended the game 25-20.

The Tigers will have a change to face Rutgers-Newark again in three weeks when the Scarlet Raiders travel to Dillon Gymnasium. Princeton opens its home season Tuesday at 7 p.m. against New York University.