Princeton University Athletics
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Princeton Looks To End Divisional Drought In Friday Road Match
March 02, 2011 | Men's Volleyball
To say this season has not gone the way Princeton men's volleyball had anticipated would be a major understatement, but the team will have an opportunity to turn things around Friday at Springfield College.
Coming off its 3-1 home loss to Springfield College last weekend, the Tigers have as little margin for error as they've seen in any recent regular season match. On a seven-match losing streak, including six in the Tait Division, Princeton finds itself in the basement with four matches remaining. Springfield picked up its first win on Saturday, meaning Princeton could match the Pride in the win column Friday night. A 3-0 Princeton win would leave the Tigers with a key tiebreaker in the final postseason race, while a 3-2 Princeton win would shift the tiebreaker to Springfield's side.
However, any sort of win would mean a great deal for a Princeton team that simply hasn't built off the momentum of its 2010 EIVA finals appearance. The Tigers have yet to win since returning from their California trip, although they saw plenty of positives from their outsides in the first match against Springfield. Freshman Jeff Stapleton led the team with 14 kills, while senior Vincent Tuminelli returned to the offensive attack following an injury with 13 kills.
The match will be the first during a New England weekend for the Tigers; on Saturday, they will take on Harvard in men's volleyball at 2 p.m.
Princeton will return home March 12 for a 7:00 match against Ball State.