On a Wednesday evening in Northridge, Calif., the Princeton Tigers (4–8 overall, 0–3 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) battled hard against the California State University, Northridge (CSUN) Matadors (11–6, 0–2 Big West Conference). Coming off a gritty victory against the University of California, San Diego Tritons, the Tigers hoped to secure another before heading home, but they struggled to break through the Matadors’ stifling defense and lost the match in four sets, 3–1.
Leading the game were senior middle blocker Ryan Vena, senior pinner Andrew Werner, and sophomore pinner Ambrose Engling, who recorded 13, 12, and 12 kills respectively. However, despite their combined offense, the Tigers were unable to convert sets into their favor.
“CSUN played a very clean and consistent match against us,” Head Coach Sam Shweisky told The Daily Princetonian. “We had trouble stopping their middle attack, and that opened up more options for them across the net.”
Just as the first set began, senior pinner Owen Mellon capitalized on an assist that gave the Tigers the early lead. Yet, the Matadors were quick to showcase their skills as a series of back-and-forths ensued until the set’s score was tied at 6–6.
The Tigers were first to break away for the lead as a kill by Werner and an attack error by CSUN’s Hank Kaufman put the Orange and Black ahead by two.
Yet another exchange of points followed, and soon enough, the Matadors tied the game up once more at 16 apiece.
It was now the Matadors who created the separation as a dig by outside hitter Jordan Lucas and opposite Jalen Phillips paved the way for a 6–1 CSUN run, setting the score at 22–17. The Tigers attempted to respond, with Mellon spiking the ball but to no avail, as a triple block by the Matadors’ defense shattered any hopes of a comeback.
A kill by Phillips handed the Matadors the first set, 25–19.
With a mere .143 hitting percentage compared to the Matadors’ .452, the Tigers had trouble generating a strong offense as they couldn’t find clear openings. Thankfully, despite the opening-set loss, the Tigers rebounded in the second.
After winning the first point once again, the Tigers opened with an early 3–0 run as kills by Werner and Vena alongside a double block, put the Tigers up 6–3. With this renewed momentum, Princeton continued to apply pressure with a hammering kill from junior middle blocker Tristan Whitfield and a triple block of their own that extended the lead to five, 15–10.
Startled by the Tigers’ aggressive playstyle, the Matadors made several service errors, giving way for the Tigers’ first service ace by Engling.
A brief scoring run and an attack error by sophomore middle blocker Ethan Wells quickly narrowed the Matador deficit to a one-point game, 22–21.
Unwilling to lose back-to-back sets, however, the Tigers responded with clean stuffs at the net, and another service ace by Vena gave the Tigers the second set victory, 25–21.
“I think we came into the second set looking to work a lot harder out on the court,” Werner told the ‘Prince.’ “In practice, we hold each other to a high standard to dive for every ball, cover each other on every swing, and communicate before each play. I think we did all of those things much better after the first set, and that is what led us to win the second set.”
Eager to end the game in four sets, the Tigers carried their momentum into the third. As the set commenced, Engling scored his second service ace of the game which gave the Tigers the early 2–1 lead. However, just like in the first set, the Matadors were quick to tie up the game 6–6 as a joust at the net ultimately landed the ball on the Tigers’ side.
Shortly after, an electric kill by CSUN’s Lucas marked the beginning of a shift in momentum favoring the Matadors.
After a series of back-and-forths till the set was tied at 17 apiece, the Matadors soon took the lead as they then proceeded to go on a 4–0 scoring run, followed by another late 3–0 run, instantly putting the set at game point.
The Tigers scrambled to answer back as sophomore libero Roan Alviar attempted to dig out a soft tip but was unsuccessful, sealing another set victory for the Matadors, 25–19.
“We struggled keeping up with the other team's defense,” Werner stated. “We simply weren't getting as many defensive touches, whether blocking or digging, and as a result, we were trailing behind them for a good amount of the game.”
With the fourth set underway, Princeton’s difficulties persisted as they struggled to find a rhythm, achieving a mere .088 hitting percentage throughout the set. Stretches of attack errors coupled with an overpass by Alviar, which enabled the Matadors to convert for a free kill, put the Tigers at a six-point deficit, 10–4.
The Orange and Black responded with a 3–0 scoring run of their own, with a double block and kills from Wells and Engling, halving the deficit. Yet this wasn’t enough to hold the Matadors back. They were quick to restore their six-point lead, and it seemed the Matadors would handily secure the victory.
However, the Tigers made one last effort as a kill from Werner and an attack error from Lucas put the deficit back to three points. A burst of kills from CSUN’s Phillips and Lucas allowed the Matadors to take the set 25–21, handing Princeton the loss.
“We have learned that how hard we work on defense is directly correlated to how well other aspects of our game often go,” Shweisky noted. “We hope we can bring a strong work ethic in defense into our next matchup.”
The Tigers head back home to face off against the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders (12–6, 4–1 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) next Saturday, hopeful to earn a home-court victory.
Andrew Kang is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to sports[at]dailyprincetonian.com
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