EIVA Champions! Men's Volleyball Overcomes NJIT 3-1 to Claim Conference Title

Saturday, April 23

University Park, Penn.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

15-12,10-6EIVA

No. 3 NJIT

17-11,10-6EIVA

Princeton

NJIT

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

EIVA Champions! Men's Volleyball Overcomes NJIT 3-1 to Claim Conference Title

April 23, 2022 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Penn. – The No. 4 seed Princeton University men's volleyball team won its 10^th-straight match to claim the 2022 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Championship Saturday night inside Rec Hall, overcoming the No. 3 seed New Jersey Institute of Technology 3-1 (23-25, 27-25, 27-25, 25-18).

Along with the title being Princeton's third, it is also Head Coach Sam Shweisky's second as he guided the Tigers to the EIVA Championship in 2019.

Sophomore Ben Harrington, the EIVA Newcomer of the Year, was honored as the EIVA Tournament Most Valuable Player. Hitting .476, he led the match in kills with a career-high 24, and added seven digs. Senior Joe Kelly, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, led the match in assists with 27, and sophomore James Hartley, also an All-Tournament Team honoree, had 12 kills, five digs, and four blocks. Sophomore Gavin Leising also added a match-high seven blocks.

Championship Vibes! ??@EIVAVolleyball | @PUTIGERS pic.twitter.com/03ipO2zjxM
— PrincetonVolley (@PrincetonVolley) April 24, 2022

The opening set started out as a back-and-forth battle, until the Highlanders used a 3-0 run to jump ahead 8-4. A kill by Harrington sparked a 3-0 Princeton run, narrowing the deficit to one at 9-8. Another 3-0 run by the Highlanders extended their lead to 15-10, but Princeton battled back to tie it up at 19-19. Another Harrington kill gave the Tigers a 21-20 advantage, but it was the Highlanders who would take the opening set, 25-23.

Princeton jumped out to an early lead, 9-6, in the second set after a kill by senior Parker Dixon and back-to-back kills by Harrington. The Tigers remained in control, as a double block by Hartley and Leising followed by a Dixon kill gave Princeton a 17-14 lead. A kill by First Year Nyherowo Omene gave the Tigers set point at 24-23, but NJIT tied it up at 24-24. After a pair of service errors along with an attacking error, Princeton came out on top, 27-25.

S2 | Princeton 15, NJIT 13

Denied!

James Hartley and Gavin Leising with the huge double block! pic.twitter.com/JNeOgYo8FN
— PrincetonVolley (@PrincetonVolley) April 23, 2022

The Highlanders used a 4-0 run to jump ahead in the third set, 7-2. Princeton would shortly use a 3-0 run of its own, this one led off by a Hartley kill to narrow the margin to two points at 7-5. The Tigers would soon make it a one-point set, after a kill by Hartley sparked a 4-0 run, making it 12-11. The Tigers chipped away, tying it up at 16-16 after a kill by Harrington, then taking the lead at 17-16 following a double block by Brady Wedbush and Dixon. The Highlanders rallied with a 3-0 run, taking a 23-22 lead but Princeton closed the set out on a 3-0 run, taking set point after a triple block by Brady Wedbush, Henry Wedbush, and Hartley, then sealing the set after a Dixon kill, 27-25.

Back-to-back Harrington kills helped give the Tigers a 6-2 advantage in the fourth set, and the Tigers remained in control from there. A kill by Hartley put Princeton up, 15-11, before a Dixon kill sparked a 5-0, giving the Tigers a 22-13 lead. The Wedbush brothers combined for the final two points of the match; Brady Wedbush delivered a pair of kills from Henry Wedbush, as the Tigers claimed the final set 25-18, and the match 3-1.

MATCH POINT, CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION!

Brady Wedbush puts down the kill, and the Tigers are 2022 @EIVAVolleyball Champions! ?? pic.twitter.com/v8Er1BQWJG
— PrincetonVolley (@PrincetonVolley) April 24, 2022

Up Next
The 2022 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship bracket will be announced on Sunday, April 24, in a selection show on NCAA.com.