Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Cal-Baptist
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Men's Volleyball Drops Season Opener 3-1 At NAIA Champ Cal-Baptist
January 29, 2007 | Men's Volleyball
The three-time defending NAIA champion Cal-Baptist men's volleyball team was playing its sixth match in five nights. The Princeton men's volleyball team was playing its first match in more than nine months. In this case, the experienced team defeated the rested one, as the Cal-Baptist Lancers improved to 8-4 with a 30-20, 23-30, 30-28, 30-20 win over the Tigers Monday night in Riverside, Calif. Freshman Carl Hamming, playing his first collegiate match, led the Tigers with 15 kills in the contest.
Head coach Glenn Nelson ended the preseason feeling good about his team's overall depth, but he was unsure of what combination of players would be able to maximize that potential. Thus, he used four different starting lineups last night, including three different liberos as he seeks a replacement for Mark Stevens '06. The four constant starters in each game were sophomore setter Brandon Denham, sophomore middle Mike Vincent, junior outside Peter Eichler and Hamming, a freshman rightside player.
Denham ended with 43 assists and five digs, both Princeton highs. Hamming's 15 kills were also a team high, while Eichler added 12 kills and four digs. Vincent had a team-best .333 attack percentage (10-2-24), and his ace clinched the second game.
Princeton showed its rust early on by allowing the Lancers to hit .636 in the opening game. The Tiger defense stepped up in a big way in the second game, and it limited Cal-Baptist to a -.120 attack percentage in the 30-23 win. Princeton broke it open early with a 7-0 run, which included six straight points on Denham's serve. Hamming had two of those kills, while both Denham and Eichler added one apiece. Eichler added a block during the run, and his later kill built the lead to eight points at 24-16. The Lancers made a mini-run, but Princeton closed it out with a kill from Eichler and Vincent's only ace of the night.
The third game was up for grabs, with Cal-Baptist holding a slight lead for the majority of the contest. An ace by Hamming gave Princeton its first advantage at 25-24, and kills by Ka'ohu Berg-Hee and Eichler would give Princeton leads at 26-25 and 27-26, respectively. Unfortunately, the latter would be the final lead, as Cal-Baptist won four of the final five points to close the game. The Lancers took control midway through the fourth game to earn a 30-20 win.
Princeton will face Cal-Irvine, the No. 2 team in the nation, Tuesday night at 7 p.m. PST.