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Saint Francis (EIVA Quarterfinal)
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2009 Volleyball Season, Glenn Nelson's Career Ends In 3-2 Thriller At Saint Francis
April 26, 2009 | Men's Volleyball
Despite a valiant rally from an 0-2 deficit, both the 2009 men's volleyball season and the historic career of Princeton volleyball coach Glenn Nelson ended Saturday evening on the campus of Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pa. The Princeton men's volleyball team edged out a pair of two-point wins in both the third and fourth sets, but it fell to the Red Flash 3-2 in the EIVA quarterfinal.
After knocking off both George Mason in the regular season finale and Rutgers-Newark in the EIVA first round, Princeton went into Saint Francis with momentum. The two programs had split a pair of 3-2 matches on the season, and the third would be no different. Junior Jeff McCown led Princeton with 19 kills and a .593 attack percentage, while senior Brandon Denham recorded 59 assists and eight digs, but those numbers wouldn't be enough to push the Tigers into the EIVA semifinals Thursday at Penn State. Saint Francis took the first two sets 30-25 and 30-26, but Princeton battled back for 30-28 and 34-32 wins. Three Red Flash service aces in the finale were key in a 15-9 win for the home squad.
The loss ends the careers of four senior starters, including Denham, who has been Princeton's starting setter since the day he walked on to campus. He has been joined in the starting lineup by All-East middle Mike Vincent all along the way; Vincent, one of the EIVA leaders in attack percentage this season, recorded 13 kills and hit .318 for the match. Senior outside Phillip Rosenberg, whose steady improvement thoughout his career helped him become one of the most underrated hitters in the league this season, recorded 17 kills, nine digs and a .419 attack percentage this season, while senior libero Ka'ohu Berg-Hee, a fixture in the starting lineup over the last two seasons, led Princeton with 10 digs.
The match will also be the final one in the 58-season career of Nelson, Princeton's all-time winningest coach. Nelson, who has coached both the men's and women's teams since 1982, is the only man in NCAA history to guide both teams to the national tournament in the same academic year; he accomplished the feat in 1997-98, and Princeton's 1998 EIVA championship is the only time the Eastern men's volleyball league was not won by Penn State. He won 1,110 matches during his career, and his 579 women's victories stands above all others on the all-time Princeton coaching list.
Saint Francis took control of the opening set midway through, but it needed a later push to put the Tigers away in the second. Tied at 22, the home squad got a kill and a block to build a two-point edge. It would stay within one point of that either way until a final attack error gave Saint Francis a 30-26 win. It was a position the Red Flash had been in before; during Princeton's regular-season win over Saint Francis, the Tigers rallied from an 0-2 road hole to pick up the win.
The Tigers began to make the same move in the third set. With the score tied at 18-18, Princeton got a Rosenberg kill, a Vincent kill and a combo block from both to build a three-point lead. It would grow to four at 28-24, and despite a small scare, the Tigers held on for the 30-28 victory. The fourth game would be a thriller, as no team held more than a two-point lead after both teams reached 10 points. Princeton got the first set ball at 29-28, and the next seven points would be sideouts. That left Princeton up 33-32, when Rosenberg recorded one more kill to force the decisive fifth set.
The fifth set would be tied at 3-3, but it wouldn't be tied at any point after. Princeton lost four points in a row on serves, either on its own errors or Saint Francis aces, and by the time Princeton recorded two straight points, it was down match ball. A final kill by Pete Freyer ended the match at 15-9 and sent Saint Francis to a Thursday EIVA semifinal against Juniata.