Career Highs For Ratter, Luck Send Princeton Past Saint Francis In EIVA Thriller

Friday, February 10

Princeton, N.J.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

3-5, 1-0EIVA

Saint Francis

4-7, 0-2EIVA

Saint Francis

Princeton

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Career Highs For Ratter, Luck Send Princeton Past Saint Francis In EIVA Thriller

February 10, 2017 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Sam Shweisky wanted to see how his young Princeton men's volleyball team would deal with the pressure of the EIVA season opener.

It's safe to say he was more than satisfied.

Junior Kendall Ratter and freshman Greg Luck posted career highs in kills to lead Princeton to a wild 22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 24-26, 16-14 win over reigning EIVA finalist Saint Francis in the Tigers' league opener. Princeton, which played without injured All-EIVA middle Junior Oboh, hit .356 for the match and outblocked the Red Flash in the dramatic victory.

Ratter, who came into the match leading the league in hitting percentage, posted arguably the best match of his career. He led Princeton with 26 kills, hit .389 for the match, and added four digs, one block and one service ace in the victory. The Encinitas, Calif., native carried the Tigers through the first three sets, while Luck turned on his offense in the second half of the match. The freshman matched his season-opening best of 19 kills, and he added seven digs while hitting .357 during the victory.

While those two paced the offensive attack, this was a full team effort. The freshman duo of Parker Dixon and George Huhmann combined for 17 kills, and each added six blocks, while senior Jonah May guided the offense with 56 assists. Sophomore Corry Short led the Tigers with 10 digs, while Mike Fuerst added three blocks.

The Tigers battled back after an opening-set loss to win two close ones, but the Red Flash rallied in extra points to force a fifth set. Princeton had played only one five-set match this season, a 21-19 loss to 15th-ranked Ball State, but the Tigers didn't show any jitters Friday night in Dillon Gym. They trailed only once (7-6), and sided out most of the way to maintain a slim advantage. Saint Francis saved one match ball at 14-13, but a kill by Huhmann gave Princeton a second chance. The Tigers played defense on the final point and ultimately were rewarded with a wide hit by the Red Flash to clinch the win.

Princeton will have a chance to complete an ideal opening weekend Saturday night at 7 pm when it hosts 14th-ranked Penn State at 7 pm on the Ivy League Digital Network. Penn State was pushed to five sets in Newark, but it pulled out a 3-2 win at NJIT.