Princeton University Athletics
Volleyball Faces Critical Home Match In Chase For Playoff Position
February 25, 2011 | Men's Volleyball
The Princeton men's volleyball team isn't even halfway through its regular season, but it faces an almost must-win match Saturday at Dillon Gym when it welcomes EIVA Tait rival Springfield College for a 4 p.m. match.
With five spots available for the six teams in the EIVA Tait Division, and with both Penn State and George Mason off to unbeaten starts, there is little margin for error from the rest of the field. Both Rutgers-Newark and Saint Francis have at least two wins apiece, including one each over Princeton, which leaves only the Tigers and the Springfield Pride as the winless teams in Tait play.
Princeton has dropped six straight matches overall, including its last three at home, and desperately needs to find some of its Dillon Gym magic from last year. On its run to the second seed in the EIVA postseason, Princeton made a run of 3-2 home wins, including a comeback victory over the Flash. After losing each of the first two games, Princeton rallied with wins of 30-26 and 30-26 to force a fifth and then scored five of the final seven points to finish the match with a 15-11 victory.
Princeton will play Springfield twice in the next week, with the two meeting in Massachusetts next Friday at 6 p.m. Should one team sweep, the other would have an incredible hole to dig out from for a postseason spot. If they split, the team that gives up the fewest game losses would have an advantage should the two teams end up tied.
The Tigers will be hoping for continued strong play from two of their freshman. Outside Jeff Stapleton is the team's leading hitter and has one of the most explosive serves in the league, while middle Brad Howard was very impressive with a team-high and season-best nine kills in a loss to Rutgers this past week.