Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
George Mason
Players Mentioned
Men's Volleyball Upsets No. 11 George Mason To Stay Unbeaten At Home
March 01, 2008 | Men's Volleyball
Senior captain Peter Eichler knows this is his final time through an EIVA season, and he's doing his best to make sure the men's volleyball team gets the best possible seed for the league tournament. His 20-kill, 11-dig effort led Princeton to its best win of the season, a 3-1 comeback win over the No. 11 George Mason Patriots.
"You try to steal some matches on the road, but if you can't win at home, it doesn't matter," Eichler said after an exciting 26-30, 30-25, 30-21, 30-25 victory over George Mason, Princeton's first since 2005. "We play in some tough environments in this league, and we're fortunate to have such a positive environment here."
Princeton has made the most of its home matches, going 5-0 on the season. This was Princeton's first EIVA Tait match at home, and the Tigers faced the second-highest ranked team in the league. George Mason came in with a 9-5 record and jumped on Princeton early in a game one win. Tiger head coach Glenn Nelson called an early timeout and had an animated talk for his players. Although the Tigers weren't ever able to fully overcome the early deficit, their attention to detail improved and set up an exciting final three games.
Princeton would end up hitting better than .300 in each of its remaining games, including a match-best .387 in the third game. Four players hit above .300 for the match, including Carl Hamming, who recorded 16 kills, six blocks and hit .583 for the match. Middles Jeff McCown and Mike Vincent combined for 18 kills; McCown added seven blocks with his eight kills and .462 attack percentage, while Vincent reached double figures with 10 kills.
Junior Brandon Denham had 55 assists and a pair of kills, including one late in the fourth game as Princeton went to put the match away. After controlling the play in the first two games, the Tigers saw Mason get out to a 14-11 lead in the fourth game. A 6-0 run on Vincent's serve would give Princeton an 18-15 lead, but Mason countered with three quick points of its own to even the score again. A kill by Hamming and a combo block by Hamming and McCown would open a three-point lead (22-19), and Princeton would maintain at least a one-point edge the rest of the match. After Denham's kill made it 27-24, McCown had a solo block to build a four-point edge. Eichler's sideout made it 29-25, and Denham finished the win off with his only ace of the match.
"It's a great win for us," Eichler said. "Mason is a great team, a Top 15 team, and it reaffirms our confidence in ourselves."
Princeton, in the middle of a seven-match homestand, will take on three EIVA Tait rivals at Dillon Gym in the next week, beginning Wednesday at 7 p.m. against NJIT. Princeton will host St. Francis Friday at 7 p.m. and No. 2 Penn State Saturday at 4 p.m. Nelson will be honored prior to the Penn State match after becoming Princeton's all-time winningest coach in the fall.