Princeton Pushes Mason To The Limit, But Patriots Escape With Five-Set Win

Saturday, March 31

Princeton, N.J.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

9-13, 5-5EIVA

George Mason

14-10, 10-0EIVA

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
George Mason	23	25	22	25	15	3
Princeton	25	11	25	18	9	2

Princeton men's volleyball vs. IPFW, Princeton, NJ, January12, 2018.

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Princeton Pushes Mason To The Limit, But Patriots Escape With Five-Set Win

March 31, 2018 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

If this turns out to be an EIVA semifinal, buckle up. It'll be good.

A match that featured two of the East's top hitters lived up to the billing Saturday night in Dillon Gym, as George Mason remained perfect in EIVA play with a 3-2 comeback win over a Princeton team that still holds the critical fourth spot in the league standings. While Princeton's George Huhmann did his part with 17 kills, EIVA leading hitter Hayden Wagner of George Mason led the Patriots to the win with 19 kills and a .308 hitting percentage.

Mason took control of the fifth set immediately and never let the Tigers back in it, but the fourth set was a back-and-forth battle that got away from Princeton. A kill by Huhmann evened the set at 16-16, and following a 3-0 Mason run, another Huhmann kill got Princeton within two points at 19-17. From there, Mason won six of the final seven points of the set, and 21 of the final 31 points of the match to move to 10-0 in the EIVA. The loss drops Princeton to 5-5 in EIVA play, but that remains two matches ahead of Charleston, NJIT, and Saint Francis with four to play.

The sophomore tandem of Parker Dixon and Greg Luck recorded 11 kills apiece, while senior Junior Oboh added eight kills and six blocks in his final career match at Dillon Gym. Dixon and freshman libero Cade Keegan had nine digs apiece, while senior Mike Fuerst — also in his final match at Dillon — added two kills, three digs, a block and a service ace.

Freshman setter Joe Kelly paced the offense with 43 assists, and he'll have to keep the offense moving as Princeton takes to the road for the final four matches of its league season. That stretch opens in challenging fashion Friday night, as Princeton heads to Harvard for a 7 pm match on the Ivy League Network. The Crimson won the first meeting this season, and it still has a chance to gain the top seed in the EIVA with a perfect finish to the season.

Princeton isn't worried about hosting anything. The Tigers know that if they get to the postseason, they have the firepower to compete with anybody. A 3-2 win over Penn State and Saturday's five-set thriller against George Mason is more than enough evidence for the Tigers in that area.

So the goal is just to get there.