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Volleyball Extends Top-Ranked Penn State Before Falling In Four
March 08, 2008 | Men's Volleyball
The seven-match home win streak for the Princeton men's volleyball team ended Saturday, but it took a major effort from the top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions to get it done. Princeton hit .325 for the match and became only the second EIVA team to take a game from Penn State, but the Nittany Lions fended off a late Tiger rally to win 3-1.
Senior captain Peter Eichler led Princeton with 14 kills and five digs, while junior Mike Vincent added 11 kills while hitting .529, but the Nittany Lions won the EIVA regular season title with a 30-24, 30-17, 26-30, 30-25 victory. Penn State, coming off its first loss of the season Friday night at No. 14 George Mason, was led by Matt Anderson (29 kills) and Max Holt (17 kills, three aces).
Junior Brandon Denham paced the Princeton offense with 48 assists and matched Eichler with a team-high five digs. Both junior Phillip Rosenberg and sophomore Carl Hamming recorded 10 kills apiece.
Princeton hung tough early in game one, but runs of 4-1 and 3-0 turned a tie score into an 18-13 Penn State lead. Princeton was able to manage one 3-0 run the rest of the game, but Penn State was too strong defensively and cruised to the game one win. Penn State was even more efficient in the second game, hitting .750 and recording only one error in a 30-17 win.
Without any recent experience of winning a game against Penn State, the Princeton players rallied around each other and put forth one of their best offensive displays in the third game. A 4-0 run on the serve of Rosenberg gave Princeton an early edge and excited a capacity crowd, which had a strong mix of fans from both sides. Penn State got it to 16-16, but a kill by Eichler got Princeton the serve back. Denham electrified the crowd with back-to-back aces, including one on a short ball that barely got over the net. The lead would grow to five points, and Princeton focused on sideouts the rest of the way. Two kills by Jeff McCown got Princeton to game ball, and a Penn State service error gave Princeton the win.
Penn State came out with energy in the fourth and built a big lead on service runs by Luke Murray and Matt Lipsitz. Princeton fought to stay in the match, but Penn State hit .394 for the final game and wouldn't allow Princeton more than a two-point run when it needed much more. Penn State closed the match with a 30-25 win to secure the top seed and home court for the EIVA postseason.
Following a long homestand, Princeton is now going to experience a three-week break before resuming play April 1 at N.Y.U.