Men's Volleyball Facts & Figures
• The Princeton men's volleyball team achieved full varsity status prior to the 1997 season, though it competed for nearly two decades prior to that as a club program.
• From 1979-2009, Glenn Nelson served as the head coach of the Princeton men's volleyball team. As both a club and varsity team, Nelson led Princeton to 504 victories; during his time as the varsity coach, the Tigers earned 156 victories.
• Princeton became the second Ivy League school in the history of NCAA men’s volleyball to reach the Final Four in 1998 (Yale was the other Ivy school).
• Princeton won 16 Ivy League tournaments in 20 seasons; this tournament is no longer held. (Note: Only Harvard and Princeton recognize men’s volleyball as a varsity sport ... the other teams in the tournament were club teams).
• The Tigers won their first-ever Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) title in 1998. Princeton earned its only win postseason win ever over Penn State in the semifinal, and it defeated Rutgers-Newark 3-0 in the final to earn a berth in the NCAA Championships in Hawaii.
• Derek Devens '98 became just the second player in school history to earn All America honors in 1997 after leading the nation in hitting percentage (Marin Gjaja '91 was the other player).
• Glenn Nelson became the first NCAA Division I men’s volleyball coach in history to take two teams to the NCAA tournament in the same school year (Nelson led the Princeton women’s team to the NCAA first round in 1997).
• Glenn Nelson finished the 1998 season ranked third all-time in wins behind UCLA’s Al Scates and Ball State’s Dr. Don Shondell. He retired following the 2009 season with 504 total victories; between the men’s and women’s volleyball programs, he won a combined 1,086 matches at Princeton.
• Sam Shweisky was introduced as the second head coach of Princeton men’s volleyball in 2009. In his first year as head coach, he led the Tigers to the EIVA finals and was named the EIVA Bob Sweeney Head Coach of the Year. He also led Princeton to both the 2014 and 2018 EIVA championship match.
• Cody Kessel ’15 became Princeton’s first AVCA All-America honoree when he was named to the Second Team. He was a finalist for the 2015 Roper Trophy, which was the first year Princeton went with multiple finalists and one winner.
• Princeton won 16 Ivy League tournaments in 20 seasons; this tournament is no longer held. (Note: Only Harvard and Princeton recognize men’s volleyball as a varsity sport ... the other teams in the tournament were club teams).
• The Tigers won their first-ever Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) title in 1998. Princeton earned its only win postseason win ever over Penn State in the semifinal, and it defeated Rutgers-Newark 3-0 in the final to earn a berth in the NCAA Championships in Hawaii.
• Derek Devens '98 became just the second player in school history to earn All America honors in 1997 after leading the nation in hitting percentage (Marin Gjaja '91 was the other player).
• Glenn Nelson became the first NCAA Division I men’s volleyball coach in history to take two teams to the NCAA tournament in the same school year (Nelson led the Princeton women’s team to the NCAA first round in 1997).
• Glenn Nelson finished the 1998 season ranked third all-time in wins behind UCLA’s Al Scates and Ball State’s Dr. Don Shondell. He retired following the 2009 season with 504 total victories; between the men’s and women’s volleyball programs, he won a combined 1,086 matches at Princeton.
• Sam Shweisky was introduced as the second head coach of Princeton men’s volleyball in 2009. In his first year as head coach, he led the Tigers to the EIVA finals and was named the EIVA Bob Sweeney Head Coach of the Year. He also led Princeton to both the 2014 and 2018 EIVA championship match.
• Cody Kessel ’15 became Princeton’s first AVCA All-America honoree when he was named to the Second Team. He was a finalist for the 2015 Roper Trophy, which was the first year Princeton went with multiple finalists and one winner.
• Since 2010, Princeton has had five players earn EIVA Newcomer of the Year honors: Pat Schwagler (2010); Cody Kessel (2012); George Huhmamm (2017); Ben Harrington (2022) and Tristan Whitfield (2024)
YEAR-BY-YEAR RECORDS
| Year | Overall | League | EIVA Postseason |
| 1997 | 24-2 | 6-0 | finalist |
| 1998 | 16-9 | 5-1 | champion, NCAA semifinalist |
| 1999 | 11-13 | 2-4 | quarterfinalist |
| 2000 | 9-12 | 4-10 | |
| 2001 | 6-13 | 5-10 | quarterfinalist |
| 2002 | 12-13 | 8-8 | quarterfinalist |
| 2003 | 16-11 | 9-7 | semifinalist |
| 2004 | 13-10 | 5-7 | quarterfinalist |
| 2005 | 7-13 | 3-9 | quarterfinalist |
| 2006 | 8-12 | 4-8 | quarterfinalist |
| 2007 | 12-10 | 6-6 | semifinalist |
| 2008 | 11-10 | 6-6 | quarterfinalist |
| 2009 | 11-12 | 4-8 | quarterfinalist |
| 2010 | 15-10 | 5-5 | finalist |
| 2011 | 3-19 | 1-9 | |
| 2012 | 13-10 | 7-7 | semifinalist |
| 2013 | 13-10 | 9-5 | semifinalist |
| 2014 | 16-11 | 10-4 | finalist |
| 2015 | 10-13 | 6-6 | semifinalist |
| 2016 | 4-18 | 4-10 | |
| 2017 | 12-14 | 8-6 | semifinalist |
| 2018 | 12-16 | 7-7 | finalist |
| 2019 | 18-13 | 13-1 | champion, NCAA 2nd round |
| 2020 | 9-6 | 7-2 | season canceled, COVID-19 |
| 2021 | - | - | Tigers did not participate, COVID-19 |
| 2022 | 15-13 | 10-6 | champion, NCAA 1st round |
| 2023 | 14-12 | 7-3 | semifinalist |
| 2024 | 12-12 | 5-5 | |
| 2025 | 15-11 | 10-2 | finalist |