Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Volleyball Eyes Historic Upset Against Penn State In EIVA Championship
May 01, 2010 | Men's Volleyball
Forget 1999. Princeton is hoping to party like it's 1998.
When the Princeton men's volleyball team takes the court tonight at 7 p.m. against the 12th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions in the EIVA final, history will not be on its own sideline. The Tigers are playing in their first EIVA final since 1998 in a place it hasn't won a single game since 1998. And Penn State hasn't lost an EIVA postseason match since 1998, when it dropped a 3-0 semifinal to Princeton.
Penn State has owned the EIVA since the latter years of the Clinton administration, but the 2010 Princeton team has handled more than its fair share of adversity this season. Despite a coaching change and four new starters, including three freshmen, the Tigers managed to find both chemistry and toughness early on.
Whether they can find a championship to punctuate this magical season will be determined tonight.
CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
Welcome Back • Today is Princeton's first EIVA Championship match since 1998, when the Tigers defeated Rutgers-Newark 3-0 to advance to win its lone Eastern title and advance to the NCAA Championship, where it lost to top-seeded Pepperdine.
Semi-Sweet • To reach the 1998 final, Princeton swept Penn State 3-0 in the EIVA semifinal. In 59 all-time matches in the EIVA playoffs dating back to 1986, that remains Penn State's only loss.
On The Road Again • Princeton has never won a match at Penn State. Its last individual game victory came in 1998, when the Nittany Lions earned a 3-1 regular season win.
Just A Second • Princeton entered the 2010 EIVA championships as the second seed, its highest seed ever in the postseason. When the Tigers won the 1998 title, they did it as the third seed.
History Lesson • Princeton had not won a single game beyond the EIVA quarterfinal round since — you guessed it — 1998. The Tigers made two semifinals since then, losing 3-0 to Penn State in both 2003 and 2007.
Cardiac Kids • Princeton won four of its five Tait Division matches by 3-2 scores. In three of the four matches, Princeton trailed in the fifth after the teams' switched sides.
Sam I Am • Princeton is led by Sam Shweisky, a rookie head coach who also serves as the assistant for the women's program. In his first year, Shweisky has led Princeton to its most victories since 2003 and its first EIVA final since 1998.
I'm Honored • Following the EIVA regular season, Sam Shweisky was named the 2010 Bob Sweeney EIVA Head Coach of the Year.
The Inner Circle • Sam Shweisky put together a staff of three volunteer assistant coaches: Ryan Hennesy, Pawel Kadlubowski and Mike Vincent, a 2009 Princeton undergraduate and former All-EIVA middle. Vincent is currently in graduate school at Princeton.
Big Footsteps • Sam Shweisky replaced Glenn Nelson, who retired following the 2009 season after serving as the only head coach ever for the Princeton men's squad. Nelson also coached the women's team and is the winningest coach for any single sport at Princeton. In 1998, he became the first coach to ever lead both a men's and women's volleyball team to the NCAA playoffs in the same year.
Oh Captain, Our Captains • Seniors Carl Hamming and Jeff McCown are Princeton's 2010 co-captains. Both are three-year starters at rightside and middle, respectively.
The Man In The Middle • Jeff McCown earned his first spot on the All-EIVA First Team this season after placing fifth in the league with a .425 attack percentage. He ranks third on the team in kills (2.4 per set) and first in both blocks (1.2) and service aces (.33).
Ham(ming) Sandwich • Carl Hamming has picked the ideal time to play his best volleyball of the season. On Princeton's current five-match win streak, Hamming is averaging 3.6 kills, 2.7 digs and 1.0 blocks; in the previous five matches, those numbers were 2.3, 1.5 and .7 for him.
Leading The Way • Junior Vincent Tuminelli leads Princeton with 3.7 kills and 4.2 points per set. He has recorded at least 15 kills in seven of his last nine matches, including 25 in a 3-2 victory over Rutgers-Newark in the regular season finale.
Strong First Impression • Freshman outside Pat Schwagler earned second-team All-EIVA honors and was named the Top Newcomer of the Year. He ranks second on the team in overall kills (3.7), but he led the team in kills in Tait matches.
Oh, What A Night • Pat Schwagler had Princeton's best single night of the season in a 3-2 home victory over Springfield. The freshman recorded a career-high 31 assists while hitting .440 and
added 14 digs in the win over the eventual EIVA semifinalist.
Fresh Faces • Pat Schwagler is one of three freshmen to be consistent starters for Princeton this season. Middle Michael Dye is averaging 2.3 kills and hitting .371, while classmate Sean Cotter won the libero job and leads the team with 1.8 digs per set.
Set It Up • After a four-year starting reign at the position for Brandon Denham '09, sophomore Scott Liljestrom has made the most of his first year as the starting setter. He earned second-team All-EIVA honors by averaging more than 12.7 assists per set. Princeton is one of only two teams in the EIVA hitting better than 300 this season; Penn State leads the way with a .326 average, while Princeton is hitting .302.
Oh Brother • Scott Liljestrom is the third brother to play volleyball at Princeton. His oldest brother, Jason, was a starting setter, while his middle brother R.J. played middle for the Tigers. He earned bragging rights this year, though; neither of his brothers ever played in the EIVA final.