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Career Effort By Thiemann Guides Volleyball To 3-1 Victory Over Juniata
March 07, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
BOX SCORE
Sophomore Kurt Thiemann recorded a career-best 15 kills and added four blocks and two service aces Friday night to lead Princeton to a 3-1 victory over Division III power Juniata to open a full home weekend for the Tigers.
The Tigers moved to 7-5 with the win, which took a significant effort against the upset-minded Eagles. After winning 25-19 in the opener, Princeton needed to rally and fight off multiple set balls in the second for a 31-29 win. Juniata bounced back with a 25-19 win in the third and had an early lead in the fourth, but Princeton rallied back for the victory.
The second set was the critical one, and it was then when Thiemann played his best. The 6-7 hitter from St. Louis turned into setter Chris Kennedy's go-to hitter throughout much of the tight play. He consistently powered balls into the deep corner to keep the Tigers alive and ultimately set up a set-winning swing by All-America Cody Kessel (11 kills, eight digs, two blocks).
The freshman duo of Kendall Ratter and Mike Fuerst both had seven kills, and Fuerst did so without a single error in the match. Junior Devin Stearns added five kills off the bench, while libero Tony Ensbury had seven digs. Kennedy paced the offense with 48 assists and helped the Tigers hit .435 in the final set.
Princeton will conclude a six-match homestand Saturday night at 7 pm against EIVA rival NJIT. The Tigers defeated NJIT 3-0 in the EIVA opener for both teams.