Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
George Mason
Players Mentioned
Volleyball Falls At Mason, Look Towards Upcoming EIVA Championships
April 25, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
BOX SCORE
Despite a match-high 15 kills from senior Cody Kessel, the Princeton men's volleyball team dropped its regular season finale 3-0 at George Mason Friday evening. The loss will send Princeton to the fourth seed for next week's EIVA playoffs and set up a semifinal showdown with Penn State Wednesday evening.
Mason and Harvard will play in the first semifinal match; Harvard swept the Patriots this season.
Despite the 3-0 final score, the match was incredibly tight throughout; Princeton actually had more kills and digs, and it hit at a slightly better attack percentage, but Mason had advantages at the service line and on the block that helped it escape with the 25-23, 29-27, 25-22 victory.
There were several positives for the Tigers beyond another strong match from Kessel (15 kills, six digs, two blocks, one ace). Junior Devin Stearns continued his stellar play over the second half of the season with 10 kills and four digs, while the middle tandem of Junior Oboh and Will Siroky combined for 14 kills, three blocks and zero hitting errors.
Senior libero Tony Ensbury had eight digs for the Tigers, while sophomore setter Chris Kennedy had 34 assists.
The match turned late in the second set. After Mason scored the final two points in the opener for the 25-23 win, Princeton held a late 21-17 advantage after a kill from Kessel. The hosts bounced back with four straight points to even the set, and then fought off two set points later before finally grabbing a lead at 27-27. Princeton fought one off, but Mason eventually won it at 29-27.
Princeton led early again in the third, but an 8-1 Mason run negated that advantage. The Tigers got to 21-21 before the Patriots scored four of the final five points to clinch the win.