Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Rutgers-Newark
Breakout Match From Robins Not Enough In Tight Volleyball Loss
March 26, 2003 | Men's Volleyball
March 26, 2003
The Princeton men's volleyball team was one point away from control of its own destiny in the race for a home playoff match, but a major rally by Rutgers-Newark ruined that and the best performance to date by senior Ray Robins in a 3-2 win for the Scarlet Raiders.
Princeton won the first two games 30-25 and 31-29, and a kill by Robins gave Princeton a 33-32 lead in what would have been a decisive third game. Instead, a service error and a pair of hitting errors doomed the Tigers to a 35-33 loss, and Rutgers-Newark never looked back. The Scarlet-Raiders, who previously won a 3-2 match over Princeton this season, won game four 30-22 and didn't make an error in a 15-7 win in game five.
Ryn Burns had a match-high 26 kills, while Robins was second on the team with 17 kills and also added 12 digs. Dennis Alshuler had 16 kills and 10 digs. Junior setter Jason Liljestrom paced the offense with 70 assists.
Danko Iordanov led Rutgers-Neawrk with 21 kills.
Princeton has three remaining EIVA Tait Division matches, and will need a strong run to gain fourth place and a home match in the quarterfinals. The top three spots are all but assured to Penn State, George Mason and Rutgers-Newark, and Princeton, Concordia and Juniata will all battle it out for the fourth spot.