Princeton University Athletics
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Men's Volleyball Welcomes Third-Ranked BYU Friday Night In Dillon Gym
February 10, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
One of the highest-ranked teams to ever compete in Dillon Gym, the third-ranked BYU Cougars will be in town Friday night to take on a Princeton men's volleyball team looking to knock off the highest-ranked team in program history.
Winners of two in a row, the Tigers will host BYU Friday at 7 pm; the match will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network, and live stats will be available through GoPrincetonTigers.com.
Two of the nation's leaders in kills will be on opposite sides of the court. BYU sophomore Ben Patch currently ranks sixth nationally with 4.4 kills per set, while Princeton senior captain Devin Stearns is ninth with 4.2 kills. Stearns caught national headlines when he recorded 33 kills — including eight in the fifth set — in a 3-2 loss at UC-San Diego.
One of the biggest challenges for Princeton will be dealing with the Cougars at the net. Both Michael Hatch and Price Jarman rank in the NCAA Top 10 in blocks, as both are averaging 1.24 per set.
Both teams are coming off weekend sweeps. Princeton ascended to the top of the EIVA standings with a weekend sweep of Charleston, while BYU swept tenth-ranked UC Santa Barbara.
PRINCETON NOTES
• since becoming a full varsity program before the 1997 season, Princeton has defeated 11 nationally ranked teams; the highest-ranked team was the 2014 Penn State squad (#10)
• sophomore middle Billy Andrew ranks second on the team with 65.5 points this season; he hit .600 in one of the victories over Charleston
• senior Michael Bagnell, in his first season as the starting libero, leads the EIVA with 2.60 digs per set
• Princeton will resume EIVA play next weekend when it heads to Pennsylvania to take on No. 15 Saint Francis and No. 7 Penn State