Princeton University Athletics
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Volleyball Opens West-Coast Swing With 3-0 Loss To Ninth-Ranked UCLA
January 26, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
BOX SCORE l SEASON PREVIEW (with video)
Head coach Sam Shweisky knows his team has the highest aspirations this season, and he has thrown his squad directly into the fire to start the 2015 season. Playing its fourth of five straight matches against ranked opponents, Princeton began its second swing through California with a hard-fought 3-0 loss to No. 9 UCLA.
The Tigers, coming off a victory over 13th-ranked UC-Northridge to end its season-opening ASICS Invitational performance two weeks ago, fell to 1-3 on the season. To add to the already high degree of difficulty, the Tigers will return to the court Monday night to take on third-ranked UC-Irvine.
On the bright side, multiple feet of snow doesn't appear to be in the forecast for Irvine Monday night.
Actually, there was more than just that on the bright side for a Princeton team that doesn't open EIVA play until Feb. 6. Freshman Kendall Ratter, whose serving heroics helped the Tigers rally to the 3-2 win at Northridge, led Princeton with 13 kills and four digs against the Bruins. All-America senior Cody Kessel added nine kills, while sophomore Chris Kennedy had 25 assists, two service aces and two digs.
The Tigers also showed impressive resolve against the Bruins, who were in control for most of the first set en route to a 25-18 win. Princeton cut a second-set deficit to two points late on two different occasions, but UCLA pushed the pace late to pull out a 25-21 win. The Tigers battled back again and were even at 20-20 in the third, but the home squad again had the late answers for the 25-21 win.