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Volleyball Draws Rutgers-Newark To Open 2009 Playoffs; Nelson To Coach Final Match In Dillon Gym
April 21, 2009 | Men's Volleyball
The Princeton men's volleyball team drew Hay Division champion Rutgers-Newark and will open the 2009 EIVA postseason in Dillon Gym Wednesday night at 7 p.m. For head coach Glenn Nelson, whose biggest victory as a men's coach came against Rutgers-Newark, it will be his final time coaching at home.
Princeton, which finished 4-8 in the division but ended with momentum after a 3-1 win at George Mason, is the sixth seed and will host one of two EIVA first-round matches this Wednesday. The Tigers defeated Rutgers 33-35, 30-23, 30-24, 30-25 in their only regular-season meeting on Valentine's Day; Princeton hit .307 for the match and got 18 kills from senior Phillip Rosenberg in the hard-fought victory.
The winner will travel to the third-seeded Saint Francis Red Flash on Saturday night for the EIVA quarterfinals. Should Princeton top Rutgers, it would set up a rubber match of arguably the EIVA's most exciting rivalry of the season. In both matches between the Tigers and the Red Flash, the winning team took the match 15-13 in the fifth set.
Regardless of the outcome, it will be the final home match for both the Princeton seniors and for veteran head coach Glenn Nelson, who was recently profiled here. Princeton has four seniors in the starting lineup: setter and captain Brandon Denham, middle Mike Vincent, libero Ka'ohu Berg-Hee and Rosenberg; each has started for at least two seasons, and Denham and Vincent have been regulars since they stepped on the Princeton campus.
Admission for the Wednesday night match is free.