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Tiger Rally Falls Just Short Against 9th-Ranked Ohio State Volleyball
April 09, 2011 | Men's Volleyball
One of its most spirited efforts of the season had the Princeton men's volleyball in the thick of things five sets into its first of two weekend road matches at No. 9 Ohio State. The veteran Buckeyes did enough to hold off the Tigers, riding a hot serving stretch to its 19th victory of the season.
Princeton trailed 2-0 before earning a pair of hard-fought 25-22 wins to force a decisive fifth set. The Buckeyes ran off four straight service aces early in the set to build a 7-1 lead, but Princeton battled back to get as close as 10-8 down. Ohio State scored five of the last six and closed the match, naturally, with a service ace.
Princeton was led by fellow senior co-captains Vincent Tuminelli, who recorded 19 kills and 11 digs in the match, and Keenan McCarthy, who hit .750 with six kills and a team-best five blocks. Sophomore Michael Dye added 13 kills, while Jeff Stapleton had 11 kills and only four errors. Junior setter Scott Liljestrom paced the offense with 45 assists and added an impressive three blocks.
After being beaten soundly in the first two sets, Princeton turned around a 15-13 deficit in the third game by running off eight of the next 10 points. That carried Princeton to a 25-22 win, and it followed by scoring the last three points of the fifth to grab another 25-22 win. After trailing 7-1, the Tigers got back into the match by winning six of eight points, including one on a solo block by Tuminelli, but the Buckeyes had the final run of the night and finished off the 15-9 win.
The two teams will return to the court Saturday afternoon at 2.