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Men's Volleyball Faces Penn State, Saint Francis In Critical Home Weekend
April 16, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
WILL SIROKY on TIGERCAST l EIVA STANDINGS
ALL-ACCESS: PRINCETON 3, PENN STATE 2 (2014)
The showdown this weekend could mean everything for the Princeton men's volleyball team. Its ultimate goal this season, to return to the EIVA postseason and earn the program's second championship, could be decided in one match this weekend. Yes, it's a big one.
Of course, Princeton also plays Penn State too.
That is the story of the final home weekend for the Princeton men's volleyball team, which could do anything from announce itself as a legitimate EIVA championship contender to put itself in must-win position going into its final match of the season the following Friday.
For the senior trio of Tony Ensbury, Cody Kessel and Will Siroky, these will be their final two matches ever in Dillon Gym. Each is winding down on their fourth season as a starter, and their plan to cap an already incredible run could make a major move this weekend.
Before we look at the individual matches, here is a quick overview on a suddenly ultra-competitive postseason race in the EIVA:
• Seventh-ranked Penn State, one of the nation's hottest teams, has already clinched the regular season title and will host the EIVA postseason.
• Princeton is currently in second place with a 5-4 league mark, though four teams are separated by only one match. Harvard (5-5) and George Mason (4-4) are both .500, while Saint Francis is 4-5.
• While Princeton and Penn State play Friday night at 7 pm, George Mason will be playing at Harvard. Mason, which owns a win at Princeton earlier this season, will host the Tigers in their season finale on Friday, April 24.
In other words, it's a mad dash for the final three spots in the postseason, but Princeton holds control of its own destiny. If the Tigers win two of their final three, they will likely end up as a top-three seed and avoid the Penn State half of the draw.
If they lose their final three, they'll likely avoid the tournament altogether.
Control is in their hands, which is all they wanted heading into the home stretch.
Penn State at Princeton • April 17, 7 pm, Dillon Gym (Live Video l Live Stats)
Princeton ended a 35-match losing streak to Penn State one year ago at Dillon Gym, so breaking a three-match losing streak doesn't sound nearly as daunting. However, this Penn State team is as hot as almost anybody in the nation, and they'll bring a potential National Player of the Year in senior Aaron Russell.
Russell, the 2014 EIVA Player of the Year, currently ranks second in the nation with 5.52 points per set. In the first meeting between the two teams, Russell has 12 kills, three service aces and 1.5 blocks in a 3-0 win at Penn State.
Princeton has the firepower to go toe-to-toe with Russell. Kessel ranks one spot behind Russell in the NCAA points race with 5.02 per set, and he had 18.5 points in Princeton's victory over Penn State last year. However, it will take a team effort to knock off the Nittany Lions, winners of 11 straight matches, and it could be the play of sophomore Junior Oboh and junior Devin Stearns that plays a huge role.
Oboh, one of the nation's leaders in blocks, ranks second in the EIVA with a .393 attack percentage. Stearns, who has had argubly the most consistently play of his career over the last month, was brilliant in the win over Penn State last season; Stearns had 18 kills and hit .353 in the 3-2 win at Dillon Gym that night.
Admission is free to all home matches, but fans should plan to arrive early Friday night. More than 1,600 fans packed Dillon Gym last season, creating one of the best home atmospheres for any Princeton event in 2014.
Saint Francis at Princeton • April 18, 7 pm, Dillon Gym (Live Video l Live Stats)
This match can't be an after-thought for Princeton, which posted a 3-0 road win over the Red Flash earlier this season. That came during a four-match losing streak for Saint Francis, but the Red Flash reinvigorated its postseason hopes with a home sweep of Sacred Heart and Harvard last weekend.
Saint Francis will open its weekend at NJIT, and then will take on Princeton during the Tigers' Senior Night on Saturday. Sophomore Stephen Braswell has emerged as the team's leading hitter with 2.7 points per set; he had 10 in the first meeting with Princeton, but the Tigers were able to contain the rest of the offense in a 32-30, 25-16, 25-22 win.
Stearns had 11 kills in that match, while Siroky (a guest on the latest edition of TigerCast) had eight kills, six blocks and hit .636 in the win.