Sports Shorts: Spikers open play in California; fencers visit Northwestern

Spikers open season in California

The men’s volleyball team opened its 2012 campaign with three matches in California last week. After losing to California Baptist and California State University, Long Beach, the Tigers picked up their first win over University of California, San Diego, in a 3-2 thriller.

Princeton won only one set in its first two matches, winning the second game at Cal-Baptist before losing in four. The Tigers were no match for No. 11 Long Beach State on Tuesday night, losing two of three sets by double digits.

In the finale of the three-match, three-day road trip, Princeton fell behind 2-0 at UC San Diego and was two points from elimination in a tight third set. But the Tigers pulled out a 28-26 victory and then won the final two sets by more comfortable margins for their first victory. Freshman outside hitter Cody Kessel continued a strong start to his career, recording a game-high 22 kills.

The Tigers will begin conference play this weekend, traveling to Sacred Heart and Harvard to open the first season of a revamped EIVA, which now features six teams. Princeton faces a very lopsided schedule, opening with eight straight road games before playing 12 of 13 at Dillon Gymnasium.

Fencers visit Northwestern

The men’s and women’s fencing teams, both ranked No. 2 nationally, participated at the Northwestern Duals this weekend. Facing some of the other top teams in the country, the men’s team went 10-1 and the women went 9-2.

Fighting first on Saturday, the women opened with a 15-12 loss to No. 6 Ohio State, but they rebounded to win their next four matches, including a 17-10 victory over the No. 4-ranked hosts. They closed the day with another 15-12 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame. The men’s team also fell 15-12 to the No. 5 Buckeyes in its first match of the day, but it would not lose again, dropping No. 4 Notre Dame 14-13 in its other big match.

Both teams were perfect on the final day, with the men winning four matches and the women taking five. The women capped their competition with Sunday’s biggest victory, edging No. 8 Temple by one bout.

Next weekend, Princeton travels to Yale for the Ivy League Round-Robins, which will determine the conference champion. Last season’s tournament was held at Jadwin Gymnasium, where the women’s team took first place while the men finished fourth.