Princeton Claims Third Straight Win Over Penn State, Builds Two-Match Edge Atop EIVA Standings

Friday, March 1

University Park, Pa.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

8-7, 6-0EIVA

Penn State

7-8, 4-2EIVA

Princeton

Penn State

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Princeton Claims Third Straight Win Over Penn State, Builds Two-Match Edge Atop EIVA Standings

March 01, 2019 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

There's just something about Penn State that inspires George Huhmann, and there's something about Huhmann that has driven Princeton to a historic stretch against its Keystone State rival.

Huhmann, who built his 2018 All-America campaign around a pair of incredible efforts against Penn State, led the Tigers to yet another victory over the Nittany Lions Friday night at Rec Hall with 18 kills, six digs and six blocks in a 3-1 comeback win. Princeton, which had never won at Penn State prior to last season, has now won twice there over an 11-month span and has won three straight over the Nittany Lions for the first time in program history.

Final: @PrincetonVolley beats @PennStateMVBALL 3-1, 25-20 in 4th pic.twitter.com/M9HHH0MkmP
— EIVA Volleyball (@EIVAVolleyball) March 2, 2019

The victory is Princeton's sixth in a row — all in EIVA play — and opens a two-match lead over Penn State, George Mason and Saint Francis as the league nears the midway point in the league race. The Tigers will look to maintain that advantage Saturday at 4 pm when they head to Loretto, Pa., to take on the streaking Red Flash.

Huhmann may have continued his incredible run against Penn State, but he wasn't the only member of his class to play a massive role in the 21-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-20 victory over the Nittany Lions, who lost for only the second time at home this season. Greg Luck added 17 kills, two blocks, two digs and two service aces, and he hit .343 in the victory. Classmate Parker Dixon added six kills and five blocks, while sophomore setter Joe Kelly had 36 assists and three digs. Senior Corry Short added eight digs for the Tigers, who moved over the .500 mark for the first time this season.

Princeton's biggest edge over Penn State came at the service line, where it had nine more aces and three fewer errors. Senior Kendall Ratter led that push with four aces, and he added three digs, two kills and a block.

Prior to the arrival of the Class of 2020 on the Princeton campus, the Tigers had lost 45 of 46 matches to Penn State. Since the start of the 2017 season, when the trio of Dixon/Huhmann/Luck anchored themselves in the starting lineup, Princeton has gone 3-2 against the Nittany Lions and held match ball in all five matches.