Princeton Blocks Comeback Bid, Clinches First EIVA Regular Season Title & Home Court In Postseason

Friday, April 12

Princeton, N.J.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

14-12, 12-1EIVA

Saint Francis

15-12, 9-4EIVA

Saint Francis

Princeton

Photo by: @fabianabeatrizphoto

Princeton Blocks Comeback Bid, Clinches First EIVA Regular Season Title & Home Court In Postseason

April 12, 2019 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Princeton worked all season for the opportunity to host the EIVA playoffs for the first time in program history, and the Tigers weren't about to let Saint Francis prolong that goal for an extra night. A brilliant start and then a pair of blocks late led the Tigers to a 3-1 win over the Red Flash, which clinched the outright regular season title and home court for the upcoming EIVA playoffs.

Those playoffs will take place April 18-April 20 at Dillon Gym. The two semifinals will be at 5 pm and 8 pm; Penn State, Saint Francis and George Mason are the other three teams that have qualified for the playoffs, but the actual seedings and matchups won't be determined until the conclusion of Saturday's contests.

More ticket information will be available next week on GoPrincetonTigers.com.

Saint Francis came into Friday's match with the only league win over Princeton this season, and the Tigers looked on a mission to avenge that early. The Tigers hit .360 in the opening set and .562 in the second set to grab a 2-0 advantage, but Saint Francis rallied in the third to keep its slim hopes for hosting the EIVA playoffs alive. The Red Flash grabbed a late lead in the fourth, but Princeton came back to even it at 23-23. Freshman Brady Wedbush gave Princeton match ball with a solo block in the middle of the court, and then he teamed with sophomore setter Joe Kelly for the home court-clinching block to end a 25-23 win.

Junior George Huhmann continued his incredible end-of-season play with 16 kills, six blocks and three digs, and he hit .600 in the process. Over the last three matches, which include his EIVA Offensive Player of the Week performances at Harvard and Sacred Heart, Huhmann is averaging 4.7 kills per set and hitting .495. Junior Parker Dixon added nine kills, while senior Kendall Ratter added eight kills and five blocks. Junior Greg Luck added six kills and five blocks, while Kelly paced the offense with 33 assists. Both Dixon and Corry Short had seven digs in the win.

Prior to Saturday's match against Penn State, which will stream live on ESPN+, Princeton will honor the senior class of Billy Andrew, Kendall Ratter and Corry Short.