Senior co-captain and middle blocker Keenan McCarthy got things rolling for the Tigers in the first set. After his kill tied the opening points at two, McCarthy stepped to the serving line to put the Tigers up 5-2 and contribute at least one blazing ace. Despite kills from senior and co-captain outside hitter Vinny Tuminelli, Harvard pulled within two points at 13-11.
Freshman outside hitter Jeff Stapleton’s serving put the game at 17-11, and classmate middle blocker Brad Howard provided two blocks. The Tigers had five of their total 10 blocks of the match in the first set and the strong defense provided them with the 25-19 win.
Tuminelli’s serving put the Tigers at a 3-0 lead early in the second set. Though Harvard tried to rally, tying the game 5-5, junior libero Dexter Scobee stepped to the line to put the Tigers ahead 12-7 with help from junior setter Scott Liljestrom, who fed the ball to Tuminelli, and Stapleton, for kills. The Tigers held off a 4-0 Harvard run and went two games up against the Crimson with a 25-22 finish.
Princeton started the third set behind Harvard but used a kill and block from sophomore middle blocker Michael Dye to tie the game at four. Dye contributed another kill for the side-out and then served the Tigers ahead, 11-8.
It looked as if the Tigers could easily put away the set until another 4-0 run by the Crimson tied the game at 21. Princeton only regained the lead briefly on a kill from Dye before allowing four points, resulting in a 22-25 Crimson victory.
As they did last year, the Tigers got out of the huddle to gain a 4-0 lead in the fourth set on Tuminelli serves. A few short runs from both teams found the match tied at 20.
Princeton was unable to push its offense to score as Harvard went on a 5-1 run to win the game 21-25, pushing the match to a fifth set. Princeton’s only point came from a service error from Harvard.
The fifth set was uncharacteristic of the competitive earlier sets. While two kills from Tuminelli off of sets from Liljestrom kept Princeton in the match early, Harvard mustered a 10-1 run to take control.
The only points Princeton scored in the final set were three kills from Tuminelli, two from McCarthy and one on a Harvard service error.
The final frame ended as a disappointing 6-15 loss for the Tigers, who had been up 2-0 on sets but allowed the Crimson to rally for the win.
Liljestrom took control of Princeton’s attack with a team-leading 52 assists. He also had four digs, three blocks and two kills. Liljestrom’s pair of kills came in four swings, giving him a .500 attack percentage.
Tuminelli recorded 21 total kills during the match — a team best. He recorded a .176 attack percentage and contributed six digs to the Tigers’ effort.
Dye ended the day with a total of 12 kills in 28 swings, giving him a .176 attack percentage.
Princeton will travel the next two weekends, facing Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend in two matches and George Mason in a conference match the following weekend.
The Tigers will return to Dillon for their final home match of the season on April 16.
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