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Volleyball Surges Past Sacred Heart, Heads To EIVA Semifinal
April 25, 2010 | Men's Volleyball
For the first time since 2007, the Princeton men's volleyball team is heading to the EIVA semifinal, thanks to a 3-1 comeback victory over a gritty Sacred Heart squad. And for the first time since 1997, the Tigers won't have to deal with Penn State in that semifinal match.
Princeton earned the second seed, its highest postseason seed ever, in the EIVA postseason two weeks ago when it swept George Mason 3-0 in its final Tait Division match of the season. Now it will face Mason once more, but this time the stakes are even higher; the Tigers and Patriots will meet in a 5:30 p.m. semifinal match Thursday night at Penn State. The winner will play either top-seeded Penn State or fourth-seeded Springfield Saturday night in the EIVA final.
Seniors Carl Hamming and Jeff McCown were freshmen the last time Princeton traveled to Penn State for the EIVA postseason. Since then, Princeton has lost 3-2 quarterfinal matches to both NJIT and Saint Francis. They were determined not to let that happen a third time.
"It means a lot to get back there," said Hamming, who recorded 12 kills, six digs and six blocks in a 28-30, 30-27, 30-14, 30-18 victory over Sacred Heart. "As a senior, you want to feel like you're leading the team. I was still feeding off that loss to NJIT. I still remember [2008 graduate] Peter Eichler getting emotional after that match and telling us to remember how this feels. I thought about that before the match."
He likely thought of it again after the first set, when a free-swinging Sacred Heart team hit .367 to take the opening set. The Pioneers, who outlasted Harvard in a late-season five-set match to qualify for the postseason, certainly didn't seem overwhelmed by the moment. They served extremely well in the first set and used a 5-0 run to break a 19-19 tie and take control of the opener.
Sacred Heart built on that momentum into the second set and led 27-25 over a Princeton team that was all too familiar with the big moment. Four of Princeton's five Tait Division victories came in five-set home matches, and the Tigers used those experiences to get out of Saturday night's jam.
"With the amount of fifth games we have played, I felt we handled that situation with fight and confidence," said head coach Sam Shweisky, who was named the EIVA Bob Sweeney Head Coach of the Year earlier this week. "We know we can turn it up at those moments. Of course, we need to work on turning it up from the start."
A Tuminelli kill got Princeton to within 27-26, and the biggest point of the match followed. Sacred Heart was unable to put away its first swing, and EIVA Top Newcomer of the Year Pat Schwagler caught the top of the block on a swing; the ball sailed just out of Sacred Heart's reach, and the Tigers were back even. A Tuminelli kill and a combo block from Hamming and freshman Michael Dye gave Princeton a set ball, and Dye put a final ball away to end a 30-27 win.
"We still felt comfortable at the end of that second game," said junior Vincent Tuminelli, who led Princeton with 16 kills and 10 digs. "And I like the fact that we went into that next game still determined."
Sensing a momentum switch, Princeton jumped all over Sacred Heart and sprinted away with the next two sets. Princeton hit a brilliant .824 in the third set (14 kills, zero errors, 17 attacks) and followed by hitting .435 in the fourth to finish off the Pioneers. Sophomore Scott Liljestrom, making his postseason debut, recorded 45 assists and helped Princeton hit .398 for the match. Schwagler joined Hamming and Tuminelli with double-digit kills (11), while McCown led the Tigers with nine blocks. Dye recorded eight kills and six blocks in Princeton's 14th win of the season.
Princeton will now face George Mason for the third time this season. The Tigers edged Mason 3-2 in Dillon Gym during a midseason match and ended its season with a 3-0 road win. Mason, which reached the semifinals with a 3-0 home win over Rutgers-Newark, is 2-0 against Princeton in the EIVA playoffs (2001, 2004).