Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
New Expectations, Confidence Send Tiger Men's Volleyball Into 2011 Season
January 24, 2011 | Men's Volleyball
TigerCast Previews Men's Volleyball Season
Maybe it happened during one of the five-set thrillers at Dillon Gym. Maybe it happened during Princeton's first EIVA semifinal victory since the 1900's. Maybe it even happened when Princeton built a five-point lead over eventual NCAA finalist Penn State with the league title on the line.
Regardless, at some point last year, there was a culture shift within the men's volleyball program. A team that once hoped to win now expected to do so, and that belief translated into Princeton's best season in more than a decade.
That's not to say that everything went right for the Tigers in 2010. The final record of 15-10 was solid, though it didn't impress the national pollsters. The 5-5 EIVA Tait record was good enough for the second seed in the league postseason, but Princeton was closer to relegation than the top seed.
No, it wasn't a perfect season. But it's a season that could be long remembered as the foundation for Princeton volleyball under second-year head coach Sam Shweisky, the reigning EIVA Coach of the Year.
Among the lessons learned last season were toughness and resilience. Princeton was forced to play a fifth set 10 times, and it was successful in seven. Of those seven wins, three of them were by the slimmest of margins, including a 17-15 comeback win over George Mason that helped clinch the second seed.
Princeton also found a way to keep itself in almost every match. From Feb. 13, the eighth match of the season, the Tigers lost only a trio of 3-0 matches; each was to Penn State, which won its 12th straight EIVA title this past May. Princeton went 8-3 in its final 11 matches; of its eight wins, the Tigers dropped the first set five times and had to win three times in a fifth set.
But maybe no lesson was as great as the one on May 1, when the Tigers stood toe-to-toe with Penn State through two thrilling sets. Outside of those in the black jerseys, likely nobody considered Princeton a real threat that day. But the Nittany Lions never shook their feisty opponents until an early run in the third set finally deflated the balloon. Still, two members of the EIVA All-Tournament team will return this season to try driving Princeton back to, and then beyond, last year's climactic EIVA championship match.
Leading the way is senior outside Vincent Tuminelli, a co-captain and three-year starter who led Princeton with 3.78 kills per set last season. Tuminelli has been one of Princeton's most efficient and explosive hitters throughout his last two seasons as a starter, but his game took off in the second half of the 2010 season. He had double-digit kills in nine of his final 10 matches, including 23 in a home win over Mason and 25 in a road win at Rutgers-Newark. In the EIVA final, he led Princeton with 16 kills and hit .448 to earn a spot on the all-tournament team.
Tuminelli brings more than just on-court talent. He is the emotional leader on the court, and when he is playing well, the team almost always follows. A consistently strong season for Tuminelli will likely land him on the All-East team and should keep Princeton in the running for a top seed in the East.
The second player on the all-tournament team was Michael Dye, currently a sophomore who will need to assume the role as Princeton's top middle this season. Jeff McCown was the Tigers' lone first-team All-EIVA selection last season, but it was Dye who dazzled in the EIVA postseason. He recorded a total of 23 kills and only three errors in the semifinal and final, hit better than .500 in both matches and recorded at least three blocks in each match. With a year of experience, this quick-hitting standout from Manhattan Beach could become one of the league's top middles this season.
Junior Scott Liljestrom also started all season for the Tigers and earned second-team all-league honors at setter. He averaged 12.8 assists per match in his first season as a starter and managed the team with calm and composure through numerous marathon victories. Liljestrom brings invaluable versatility to the lineup, allowing Shweisky to consider him at multiple positions early in the season. He is clearly the most experienced setter on the roster and will likely start the season at that position, but teams in California could see him in other spots on the court for a set or two.
Seniors Keenan McCarthy and John Morris bring important leadership to the court, but neither has the type of experience that Tuminelli owns. Shweisky might need them to both play important roles on the court in 2011, especially McCarthy. After playing 34 sets last season, McCarthy will compete with freshman Brad Howard for the other middle position. Howard, a four-year starter, led Mountain View to a league title last season, and he'd like nothing more than to do the same for Princeton.
The second outside position is likely to be handled by freshman Jeff Stapleton to start the season. The captain and team MVP for Bellarmine College Prep, Stapleton is a hard-hitting 6-2 outside who earned league MVP honors as a senior. Pat Schwagler, a starting outside last season, is currently serving an indefinite suspension for a team infraction, according to Shweisky.
A third freshman that will likely compete for starting time is Davis Waddell, a 6-5 first-team all-league selection from Mira Costa High School. Like Liljestrom, Waddell brings great versatility to the court, which will allow him to compete for time at both the setter and rightside position. Shweisky has been impressed early with Waddell, and though he may not be sure exactly where to place him in the rotation, he expects to see Waddell on the court plenty.
Junior Dexter Scobee is one of numerous players vying for the libero position. Scobee played in 17 sets last season, but he could be called upon to handle the spot this season.
A handful of other newcomers, including Jamie Ding, Ryan Poladian, Bar Shabtai and Daniel Tien, will also work for playing time and add depth to a lineup that has the highest of expectations this season.