Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
George Mason
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Volleyball Rallies Past Mason To Continue Home Heroics
April 03, 2010 | Men's Volleyball
Now it's just getting ridiculous. For the fourth straight home match, all within the Tait Division, the Princeton men's volleyball team went the distance before pulling out a victory even more thrilling than the previous one. Spurred on by a raucous home crowd, and with a big assist to the Princeton band, the second-place Tigers rallied in the fifth set to defeat George Mason Friday night at Dillon Gym.
The 30-23, 28-30, 33-31, 23-30, 17-15 victory moves Princeton to 9-7 overall, 4-4 in the Tait Division, while George Mason falls to 5-15 overall, 2-4 in the division. Princeton moved past Springfield College for second place behind Penn State and has only two road matches remaining in the division, including a rematch with George Mason on April 11.
After a spirited first four sets, which included significant rallies in both the second and third sets, it once again came down to a fifth and final set. George Mason, building off the momentum of a dominant fourth-set win, jumped out to a 7-2 lead and seemed in control. It got to 8-4 when Princeton senior Jeff McCown began to serve. While in similar past situations, McCown had used a softer serve to make sure he kept the ball in play, the senior co-captain relied on a jump serve to put some added pressure on the Patriots.
"I've been working hard on my serves in practice," said McCown, who recorded 15 kills and five blocks in the win. "[Assistant coach] Pawel [Kadlubowski] told me to go with what I know. We just needed to take it one point at a time. If you win one point, try and get another."
A kill from Pat Schwagler, who led Princeton with 24 kills, and a combo block from Schwagler and fellow freshman Michael Dye got Princeton to within two points. At that point, Mason looked to be in good shape when Joe Norton was set on the right side of the net and only setter Scott Liljestrom was there to contest him.
"Guys try to hit at me, because I'm short," Liljestrom said with a smile after his key block helped get Princeton to within one point. "I knew I was alone, so I dropped into the angle. Once we got to that point, we got confident."
That confidence, as well as the noise level in Dillon, skyrocketed over the next four points. Two Mason errors and two Schwagler kills completed a 7-0 run that appeared to give Princeton complete control. Of course, nothing has ever been certain this season, and the Patriots did fight back to actually serve a match ball at 14-13. A service error evened the score, and a Schwagler kill gave Princeton its third match ball of the set. George Mason struggled on a serve by Vincent Tuminelli, who recorded 23 kills in the win, and setter Brandon Joyner attempted to dump the ball for his seventh kill of the match.
He was successful on six other attempts, but McCown had finally read the play and was there at the most opportune time. He blocked the attempt, and although Mason got a hand on it at first, the Patriots were unable to return the ball. The block set off a joyous celebration for Princeton, which made sure to pay tribute to the band following the win.
"The band brought a lot of energy tonight," McCown said. "We haven't had a match with this intensity all year."
For a while, it didn't seem that the match would live up to the previous five-set wins over Saint Francis, Juniata and Springfield. Princeton cruised in the first set and led both 17-10 and 27-23 in the second. George Mason clawed back into the match with a late 7-1 run and claimed the second set on a kill by Norton.
It was Mason's turn to lead through much of the third set, but a late service run by Liljestrom turned a deficit into a slim Tiger lead late in the frame. Both teams would hold set balls, but a kill by Tuminelli and a combo block from Tuminelli and Dye helped Princeton take the third game and assure it a fifth set, which is becoming a comfort zone for Princeton.
"I give a lot of credit to Scott Liljestrom," said Shweisky, who is now 6-1 at Dillon Gym. "He had a lot of energy all night and brought the team together when we were down in the fifth. I also have to credit our sideline, the fans and, of course, the band, for keeping the energy alive. It is tough to win on the road, and we had a great home atmosphere tonight."