Tigers sweep on weekend, crush no. 13 Harvard

Princeton men’s volleyball (5-4 overall, 3-0 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) impressed the Dillon Gymnasium faithful with two strong wins during their home opening weekend. The Tigers downed two conference opponents, No. 13 Harvard (6-4, 2-1 EIVA) and Sacred Heart (3-6, 1-2 EIVA) by set score of 3-1 and 3-0 to kick off a six-game homestand.

Popular sentiment leading up to the contest suggested that Harvard had been overrated by the coaches’ poll. In any case, Friday’s win marked the first time in program history that Princeton had defeated two ranked opponents in the same season (the previous win coming against No. 13 Cal-State Northridge, a currently unranked squad).

With the wins Princeton improves its series records to 6-2 against the Pioneers and 10-7 against the Crimson. Harvard got the best of Princeton twice during the 2014 regular season before falling to their Ivy League rivals in a 3-1 EIVA semifinals matchup.

Strong contributions from across the Orange and Black roster led to the impressive team win over their conference foes. Thanks to the victory, Princeton can lay claim to the Ivy League championship at least until the rematch in early April when the Ancient Eight’s only two men’s volleyball sides will compete again.

Senior Cody Kessel and sophomore Junior Oboh made a potent blocking combo Friday night, totaling a dozen blocks with six apiece. Kessel, an honorable mention All-American from last season, remains one of the nation’s most feared hitters and led all players with 22 kills.

Worthy of note was the performance of freshman hitter Kendall Ratter, whose athleticism and aggression led to 11 kills.

Friday night, the Tigers had to play from behind after a first set which could not have been closer. No team took more than a three-point lead in the 26-24 Harvard win. The Crimson’s attack percentage of 69 marked their highest for the night.

Set two began in similarly close fashion with four tied scores and one early lead change. Consecutive service aces by Ratter extended the Tigers’ lead to 22-17, a lead which would prove insurmountable for the Crimson.

Four lead changes occurred during the third set along with 12 tied scores. Strong late-set serving from sophomore setter Chris Kennedy, one of the team’s most dastardly ball-handlers, granted the Tigers a 25-21 win and a 2-1 lead.

Harvard looked poised to push the contest to five sets as they took a 20-17 lead following six straight Crimson points in the fourth set. A Princeton rally set up one of the night’s most spectacular moments. On a Princeton set point, sophomore setter Jonah May substituted in to make his first appearance. He hit Harvard libero Samuel Murphy with an off-speed serve which caught the Crimson specialist off guard and went out of play for the match-winning service ace.

It doesn’t take much to get a Princeton crowd riled up against Harvard. But this particular set of spectators proved particularly lively and showed no mercy against the visitors.

Additionally, the spirit demonstrated by the Tiger bench provided motivation for players on the court. Senior setter Conor Dube led his fellow subs in entertaining joint celebrations following impressive swings from their teammates.

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Dube is a former associate photography editor.

The following afternoon saw a similarly strong performance by the Tigers, although in each set they took some time to establish their dominance.

The underdogs from Fairfield, Conn. managed a strong start. A 6-3 lead for the visitors prompted Princeton head coach Sam Shweisky to call a timeout, after which his team did not look back. They managed a nine-point win streak before cruising to a 25-13 set win.

Once again, the Pioneers built up a lead with some gritty play in the second set. As the visitors leading 14-10, a Princeton timeout set up an eight-point run for the Tigers who took the second set 25-20.

Sacred Heart refused to back down even trailing by two sets. The Pioneers managed a set attack percentage of 57, their highest of the night, while holding the Tigers to 61, their lowest. A service error by Oboh tied the game at 25 before Kessel swung and killed on an assist from Kennedy and subsequently hit a service ace to secure the 27-25 win.

Kessel was again murderous on attack Saturday night, racking up 16 kills on 27 total attempts. His classmate, Will “Wild Bill” Siroky tallied a game-high seven blocks including a solo effort. Princeton’s 27 rejections far outpaced the six block assists from the Pioneers, who had neither the athleticism nor the wherewithal to deal with the Tigers’ attack.

The two wins were key for Princeton following some mixed preseason results. Earlier this winter, the Tigers faced their first six competitors in always-sunny Southern California. Long Beach, UC-Santa Barbara, UCLA and UC-Irvine, all ranked in the top 20, delivered 3-0 losses to the Tigers. Princeton picked up a comeback 3-2 win against Cal-State Northridge, then ranked 13th,to close their competition in the UCSB ASICS Invitational as well as a 3-0 victory over UC-San Diego.

Last weekend, EIVA opponent NJIT fell victim to a Tiger onslaught. Kennedy was stellar in the 3-0 win as he racked up 34 assists along with a service ace. The Highlanders were far outmatched, seeing the visiting Princeton side manage outrageous attack percentages of 93 and 91 in the first two sets.

Next weekend, Princeton will begin a series against Coker College, a Division II South Carolina school of about 1,200 students. The Tigers resume conference play the following week against George Mason.