Volleyball Returns West, Opens Challenging Trip Tuesday At UC-San Diego

Tuesday, January 29

La Jolla, Calif.

6:00 PM PST

Princeton University

UC-San Diego

Photo by: Brian McWalters

Volleyball Returns West, Opens Challenging Trip Tuesday At UC-San Diego

January 28, 2019 | Men's Volleyball

WEEKLY LINKS
UC-SAN DIEGO (Tuesday, 9 pm ET/6 pm local): Live Video l Live Stats
USC (Thursday, 10 pm ET/7 pm local): Live Video l Live Stats
UC-NORTHRIDGE (Friday, 10 pm ET/7 pm local): Live Stats

The season-opening odyssey for the Princeton men's volleyball has returned the Tigers to California this week, where they will play their final three non-league matches before opening EIVA play the following weekend. The nine-match road trip, which has included stops in three different time zones, will conclude with matches against UC-San Diego, USC, and CSU-Northridge.

Princeton, the reigning EIVA finalist, opened its season with a 1-5 start, though the Tigers have already faced three teams that have been ranked in the AVCA Top 5 this season (Pepperdine, UCLA, UC-Irvine). Though Princeton wasn't able to get a win against that trip — the Tigers' lone win came against Erskine in a tournament at George Mason — it was able to test both veterans and a talented set of newcomers against some of the NCAA's elite programs. Head coach Sam Shweisky, who earned his 100th win earlier this season, was excited to see his powerful duo of Parker Dixon and George Huhmann go toe-to-toe with that level of opponent; Dixon was the first EIVA Offensive Player of the Week honoree, while Huhmann, the preseason All-American, is averaging 3.3 kills and .9 blocks while hitting over .300 for the season.

While the victory over Erskine was important on several levels, potentially the most important was the breakout performance of Greg Luck. The 2018 EIVA All-Tournament Team selection had his best match of the young season, recording 20 kills, eight digs and seven blocks in a reminder of just how talented and versatile he remains. Sophomore setter Joe Kelly continues to pace the offense, which continues to round into form as it approaches a Feb. 8-9 homestand against Charleston the following weekend to kick off league play.