Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Powerhouse Trio Awaits Volleyball In Early 2015 Start At ASICS Invitational
January 06, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
Traditionally, the Princeton men's volleyball season has opened in California, and that will remain the case again in 2015. However, it has usually come in a post-Finals trip. This year, the reigning EIVA finalist will get an early jump on the season via an invitation to the 2015 ASICS Invitational at UC-Santa Barbara.
| Schedule | 1/9 v. Long Beach/UC Santa Barbara; 1/10 v. Cal-State Northridge |
| Live Stats/Twitter | (no stats for opener) UCSB l UCSN • @PrincetonVolley l @PUTigers |
| Rosters | Princeton l Long Beach l UC-Santa Barbara l Cal-State Northridge |
| Schedules | Princeton l Long Beach l UC-Santa Barbara l Cal-State Northridge |
| 2014 Statistics | Princeton l Long Beach l UC-Santa Barbara l Cal-State Northridge |
| Coming Up Next | Princeton returns to California for three matches Jan. 25-28 |
It will truly provide head coach Sam Shweisky and his squad an early look at how it fares against three of the nation's elite programs. Each of Princeton's opponents this weekend is ranked in the AVCA national preseason poll, while the Tigers are one of three teams that were listed among the others receiving votes.
"I'm looking forward to competing at such an elite tournament and seeing three of the premier programs in the MPSF," Shweisky said. "I want to see how different guys and different lineups react against these types of opponents. It's a great early test to prepare ourselves for what will definitely be a very strong EIVA in 2015."
Princeton, which defeated Harvard in the 2014 EIVA semifinal to claim its first spot in the championship match since 2010, will open play Friday at 10 am local time (1 pm Eastern) against No. 12 Long Beach State. The 49ers went 18-10 last season, 2-0 against EIVA programs (Penn State and Harvard), though they graduated several key starters from that team.
The Tigers will return to the court at 7 pm local (10 pm Eastern) to take on No. 4 UC-Santa Barbara. The Gauchos, the tournament host, went 18-9 last season and knocked off UCLA in the MPSF quarterfinals before falling to BYU in the semifinal. They return senior Weston Nielsen, who averaged 3.1 points per set last season.
Princeton will play Saturday against No. 13 Cal-State Northridge (1:30 local, 4:30 Eastern), which will take on fellow EIVA program Saint Francis Friday evening. The Matadors are led by all-MPSF outside Sam Holt, who averaged 4.3 points per set in 2014.
The Tigers, who have been plagued by injuries early in the preseason, are led by third-team All-America Cody Kessel, as well as fellow All-EIVA honorees Tony Ensbury and Devin Stearns.