Men's Volleyball Falls to Penn and St. Francis

This Friday and Saturday, the men’s volleyball team hosted conference rivals Penn State and St. Francis. The back-to-back match ups marked the last two home games of the season for the Tigers as they sought to break their recent losing streak. Despite notable performances and a strong effort from the Orange and Black, the Princeton squad fell to both their opponents, losing 1-3 to the Nittany Lions and 2-3 against the St. Francis Red Flash.

Princeton opened this week’s competition with a match against nationally ranked Penn State. While the challenge seemed daunting, the Tigers’ enthusiasm wasn't dampened. After losing the first set, 25-23, the Tigers bounced back in the second set. Led by sophomore outside hitter Kendall Ratter, who recorded a career-high 23 kills, Princeton claimed the second set, 25-21.

Despite the Tiger comeback in the second set, the Lions showed their composure and experience by taking the next two sets, 25-17 and 25-19.

While it certainly was not the result the Tigers were hoping for, the Princeton effort showcased many of the squad’s strengths. “I think that our team played really solid defense and brought a lot of pressure from the service line,” Ratter said. “We talked before the match about how, if we can slow down their offense with some digs, it will take the wind out of their sails for the rest of the match.”

More importantly, the team wasn't discouraged by the loss and continued to remain optimistic. “The team is very much energized by the way we played in last night's match, and we are definitely looking to play out the remaining matches with a lot of intensity and fire,” Ratter said.

The Tigers continued the campaign the next day with a game against St. Francis. Again, the Princeton side seemed to get off to a slow start. St. Francis seemed to have iced the game after winning both of the first two sets with a score of 25-22. However, this did not appear to affect Princeton’s game ,as the Tigers returned the favor by winning two sets of their own and forcing a fifth set.

Yet the Tigers fell just short of a fairytale comeback to close their last game. Despite a career-high 17 kills from sophomore middle blocker Mike Fuerst and a combined 25 kills from senior outside hitters Devin Stearns and Zach Shaw, St. Francis claimed the final set and the win with a 15-11 victory.

These losses have put a major dent in Princeton’s playoff hopes. The Tigers (3-8) currently rank seventh in the EIVA standings and had to beat St. Francis (6-4) to claim the fourth place position to qualify for the playoffs. While it seems unlikely, the Tigers will still be looking to end the season on a strong note.

“Obviously that would be the ideal way to finish off our conference play,” Ratter stated. “But even if we fall short at the end of everything, we still want to play well and fight hard to send our seniors off on a season they can be proud of.”

The Tigers will end the season with three road games. Princeton will face three more EIVA opponents, including Ivy rivals, Harvard. “All of the games we have left are against very good teams, and they are all going to be tough battles if we want to come out on top” Ratter said. “The Harvard match is always an exciting rivalry, as they are the only other EIVA opponent who is also in the Ivy League.”