Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Penn State (EIVA Semifinal)
Players Mentioned
Penn State Reaches 17th Straight EIVA Final, Eliminates Princeton 3-0
April 30, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
The Princeton men's volleyball team knew it would take a monumental effort to slow down Aaron Russell and the seventh-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions in the second semifinal match of the EIVA postseason. Instead, the Tigers were on the wrong end of a monumental effort from Russell, the three-time EIVA Player of the Year, and they were knocked out of the postseason.
Russell recorded 19 kills and five service aces while hitting .720 in a 25-20, 25-17, 25-10 victory over Princeton at the Rec Center. Top-seeded Penn State will face third-seeded George Mason in the league final; Mason upset second-seeded Harvard 3-1 in the first semifinal.
Princeton actually got off to the start it wanted, winning 10 of the first 15 points against the 16-time reigning EIVA champion. Penn State chipped away at that advantage fairly quickly and grabbed a 14-13 lead, and the two sides stayed within a point of each other for much of the set. After a kill by Cody Kessel got Princeton within two points (21-19), Penn State ran off four of the next five points to take the set.
The Nittany Lions never looked back from there. They used runs of 7-2 and 6-1 to claim the second set and won 13 of the first 15 points to take full control of the final set.
Princeton simply couldn't generate enough offense after the early stages of the first set. The Tigers hit .105 for the match, and nobody could get to double-digit kills. Kessel led the Tigers with eight kills, while junior Devin Stearns and sophomore Junior Oboh both had six. Senior middle Will Siroky had five kills without an error, while classmate Tony Ensbury had a team-best four digs.
The loss ends the brilliant Princeton careers of Ensbury, Kessel and Siroky, each of whom was a four-year starter for the Tigers. Among their many accomplishments over the last four years:
• Princeton had five wins over nationally ranked opponents; the Tigers had a total of three during the previous 13 seasons.
• They made four straight trips to the EIVA semifinals; the Tigers had made only three trips to the semifinals since 2000.
• after 35 straight losses to Penn State, Princeton knocked off the Nittany Lions 3-2 last season at Dillon Gym.