Tigers Return To California For Challenging Trio, Including Televised Thursday Match At UCLA

With finals in the rearview mirror, the Princeton men's volleyball team has returned to California for a tough three-match stretch — including a Thursday night match at #2 UCLA on the Pac-12 Network — in the team's final tuneup for EIVA play.

Princeton (1-4) opened its season with four matches in California, a quartet that included the highest-ranked victory in program history, a 16-14 fifth-set win over eighth-ranked Stanford. That match was dominated by sophomore Greg Luck, who posted career highs in kills (21), digs (10), and blocks (6), while hitting .452 and leading the Tigers in successful serves received.

Classmate George Huhmann, the reigning EIVA Newcomer of the Year, also got off to a strong start in California. He currently leads Princeton in kills (3.17), points (3.97) and blocks (0.83) per set. He had 14 kills and a trio of blocks in the victory over the Cardinal.

Princeton is also happy to see its other reigning First-Team All-EIVA middle in the lineup this time. Senior middle Junior Oboh missed the first four matches due to a preseason injury, but he is expected to be fully cleared for all three matches, including the Wednesday night opener at UCSD.

Here is a quick look at the three matches this week.

Wednesday • Princeton at UCSD • 9 pm ET/6 pm local
Links: Live Video l Live Stats

UCSD is 6-2 on the season, with its losses coming to #2 UCLA and #11 Grand Canyon. Tanner Syftestad has been the dominant force for the Tritons on the season; he averages nearly 5.4 kills and more than 6.3 points per set this season, and he has more than 20 kills in each of the last three UCSD matches. Last season, he had 21 in a 3-1 win over Princeton, while both Luck and Parker Dixon had 13 for the Tigers.

Thursday • Princeton at #2 UCLA • 10 pm ET/7 pm local (Pac-12 Network)
Links: Live Video l Live Stats

The second-ranked UCLA Bruins are 8-1 on the season following a road split at Hawaii, and they are 2-0 against EIVA teams this season, including a 3-1 win over Penn State. Where UCSD has been led by one main hitter, the Bruins have four different rotation players averaging more than two kills per set. Junior setter Micah Ma'a paces the offense with 10.2 assists per set. Princeton head coach Sam Shweisky and UCLA assistant Brad Keller worked together the last two years with the USA Volleyball Youth National Team.

Saturday • Princeton at #12 Pepperdine • 4 pm ET/1 pm local
Links: Live Stats

The road trip concludes Saturday afternoon at #12 Pepperdine in the first meeting between the two schools since the 1998 NCAA semifinal, which followed Princeton's only EIVA championship. The Waves are coming off a win at the Uvaldo Acosta Invitational, which included a 3-0 win over George Mason. David Wieczorek is the leading Pepperdine hitter with more than 4.1 kills per set this season.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results