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Volleyball Resumes EIVA Play With Huge Road Showdown With No. 8 Penn State
March 25, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
If Princeton wants to avoid making this trip in late April, it can take a big step this weekend. That step, of course, would be a historic one for the program.
Three weeks removed from play within the EIVA, the Princeton men's volleyball team will return to conference action this weekend with a pair of road matches. That journey starts Friday night at 7 pm against the eighth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions, one of the nation's hottest teams and the 16-time defending EIVA champion.
This will be a rematch of the 2014 EIVA final, which Penn State won in three hard-fought sets. It will feature two of the top contenders for EIVA Player of the Year honors, and it will give the winner an inside track to hosting the league playoffs (April 29-May 1).
Hence, if Princeton doesn't want to play in State College for the EIVA final, it probably needs to take care of business this weekend. The Tigers are currently 8-7 overall, 4-1 in the EIVA, and they trail Penn State (10-9, 4-0) by a half game in the league standings. The first-place team at the end of the regular season will host both the semifinals and championship match, and Penn State has earned that honor every year since Princeton won the title in 1998.
Of course, that isn't the only match of the weekend for the Tigers, and they certainly can't look past the Saturday afternoon showdown at Saint Francis. The Red Flash are 2-2 in EIVA play, but if they sweep the weekend (Saint Francis hosts NJIT Friday) and Princeton loses to Penn State, Princeton could fall from second place to fifth in one 24-hour span.
Here is a quick look at both match-ups:
Princeton at Penn State • Friday at 7 pm (Live Stats)
Penn State opened the season with six straight losses, but it is has rounded into form in impressive fashion. The Nittany Lions enter the weekend on a six-match win streak, including four straight over teams ranked in the latest AVCA national poll.
Penn State has been led by reigning EIVA Player of the Year Aaron Russell, who ranks second nationally in both kills (4.72) and points (5.60) per set. Those numbers would seem to make him pretty locked in for a second straight Player of the Year honor, until you move one spot down in the rankings. Princeton senior Cody Kessel is third in both categories (4.29 kills/5.15 points), and could make a huge statement by leading the Tigers to their first win in State College in program history.
Penn State owns a 51-3 all-time advantage in the series, though one of the three losses came last season, when the Tigers scored five of the final six points in an 18-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-25, 15-11 victory in front of more than 1,500 people in Dillon Gym.
A win for Princeton Friday night would not only be its first ever at Penn State, but it would be its third of the season against a ranked program, which would be the most as a full varsity program, and it would be the highest-ranked team that Princeton has ever beaten.
Princeton at Saint Francis • Saturday at 4 pm (Live Video l Live Stats)
While Penn State started its season a six-match losing streak, the Red Flash nearly doubled that total with an 11-match losing streak to begin the 2015 season. But they beat George Mason at home on Feb. 13, and that match alone has kept the squad in the thick of the EIVA standings.
Two of the league's most efficient hitters will take the court Saturday. Princeton middle Junior Oboh, who leads the EIVA and ranks fourth nationally with a .440 attack percentage, while Saint Francis opposite Mike Marshman ranks fifth in the EIVA with a .343 attack percentage.
Princeton has won four straight over Saint Francis, including a 3-1 road win last season. Kessel had 18 kills in the victory, which featured a 31-29 Princeton win in the final set.