Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
St. Francis University
Players Mentioned
Volleyball Rallies Past St. Francis, Will Face Top-Ranked Penn State Saturday
March 07, 2008 | Men's Volleyball
The Princeton men's volleyball team remained unbeaten at Dillon Gym Friday night with a 3-1 comeback win over second-place St. Francis in a key EIVA Tait Division matchup. The Tigers are in a third-place tie with George Mason, which shocked No. 1 Penn State 3-1 Friday evening. The Nittany Lions will head to Princeton tomorrow in the final match of the Tigers' seven-match homestand.
The Tigers nearly overcame an early hole in the first game before ultimately falling 33-31. The momentum from the late comeback served Princeton well, though, as the home team claimed the match with 30-24, 30-27 and 30-27 victories in the final three games.
Senior Peter Eichler continued his stellar play over the last week with 22 kills and 10 digs from the outside. Head coach Glenn Nelson considered the recent play of the 2007 All-East outside, "the best of his career." Fellow outside Phillip Rosenberg was also impressive, killing 16 balls and digging 13 others, while hitting .355 for the match. The middles, a key component in the 3-1 upset of George Mason last weekend, combined for 25 kills and both hit above .500 for the match. Sophomore Jeff McCown had 14 kills and six blocks, while junior Mike Vincent had 11 kills, two blocks and two aces.
Juniors Brandon Denham and Ka'ohu Berg-Hee paced the offense and defense, respectively. Denham had a match-high 65 assists and recorded two kills on four swings, while Berg-Hee had a season-best 16 digs to keep giving the Tiger offense more opportunities.
Nelson thought squandered opportunities were key in the opening game. St. Francis hit .545 for the game, had leads of 10-5 and 22-16, yet Princeton still had two game balls. Princeton couldn't dig either of the Red Flash swings and would ultimately fall victim to a pair of late blocks. The Tigers kept St. Francis close throughout the second game, and with the score tied at 18, Princeton ran off seven of the next 10 points to build a 25-21 lead. Denham and McCown both had late kills to help Princeton even the match at one game apiece.
A 5-0 run on Denham's serve helped Princeton build an early advantage in the third game, and although St. Francis made a late run to trim the deficit to two points, a final Eichler kill gave Princeton a 2-1 lead. This time, the Red Flash took advantage of some late momentum and built a 6-0 lead to start the fourth game. Princeton patiently chipped away at the deficit, and a Vincent kill got the score back even at 14. A string of Red Flash errors would give Princeton a three-point lead, and a kill-block combo on consecutive plays by Rosenberg got Princeton to within two points of the match. Eichler's match-best 22nd kill of the evening ended it and moved Princeton above .500 in Tait Division play for the first time all season.
"Volleyball is a huge momentum game," Rosenberg, who has overcome earlier injuries to play his best volleyball of the season, said afterwards. "We started off a little slow, but we got some momentum late in that first game. We're playing together now."