Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
St. Francis
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Volleyball Falls In 3-2 Thriller Against St. Francis
April 10, 2009 | Men's Volleyball
Early in the season, the Princeton men's volleyball team used an incredible fifth-set rally to stun the Saint Francis Red Flash during the EIVA-opening weekend. The Red Flash returned the favor Thursday night, claiming the final two points of the fifth set to earn a 3-2 victory over Princeton.
Princeton fell to 9-10, 3-7 in the Tait Division, with the 22-30, 30-26, 30-26, 22-30, 15-13 loss. Saint Francis stayed in the hunt for a first-round playoff bye with the win, while Princeton is assured of the sixth seed and will host the Hay Division winner April 22. That team is likely to be either Harvard or Rutgers-Newark, both of which Princeton has earned wins against this season.
Despite the final result, Princeton played one of its best matches of the league season. Princeton hit .331 for the match and had a team-best 15 kills from a trio of players: Phillip Rosenberg, Mike Vincent and Carl Hamming. Vincent hit .500 in the match and added five kills, while Hamming added six digs and five blocks to go along with a .385 attack percentage. Rosenberg had 10 kills, just off the team-best total of 13 by libero Ka'ohu Berg-Hee. Senior Brandon Denham led all players with 58 assists, while junior Jeff McCown had 13 kills and four aces.
After playing a near-flawless opening set, Princeton dropped a pair of close ones to trail 2-1 in the match. McCown made a long service run early in the fourth to open an 8-1 lead, and Princeton never led Saint Francis even the score. The Red Flash struck early in the fifth and built a 7-3 lead, but Princeton chipped away until a Vincent Tuminelli kill finally tied the score at 11. The teams sided out until the Red Flash served match ball at 14-13, and match leader Jordan Varee recorded his 23rd kill to finish the match.
Princeton will play its regular season home finale Friday night against reigning NCAA champion Penn State.