No. 15 Princeton Men’s Volleyball Falls to No. 3 Penn State in EIVA Championships

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University Park, PA - The No. 15 Princeton Men's Volleyball team concluded their 2023 campaign in the EIVA Championships, falling to No. 3 Penn State 0-3 (14-25, 18-25, 22-25) on Saturday night in Rec Hall.

Saturday's match was the Tigers' fourth, consecutive team appearance in the EIVA Championships (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023) in years' the tournament has been hosted.

Princeton concludes the 2023 season with 14 wins, a 6-2 record at home, three wins over ranked opponents, and five All-EIVA team honorees.

The Tigers were led by a strong group of leaders this season including the teams' seniors: Brady Wedbush, Nate Thompson, Danny Sun, Alexander Mrkalj, Nico Posivak, and Rodrigo Fernandez.

"I'm really proud of this team," head coach Sam Shweisky said. "We didn't have the greatest of starts early on this season, so to get the opportunity to play in the championships today was special. Hats off to the captains who have shown leadership all season long and to the underclassmen who continue to carry on the teams' traditions. I am very proud of this group and excited for the underclassmen who got to experience a taste of what it is like to be in the EIVA Championships."

In Saturday's match with the Nittany Lions Senior, Brady Wedbush executed seven kills to lead the Tigers. Nyherowo Omene led Princeton in aces with two and in blocks with three.

Henry Wedbush coordinated the Tiger offense with 20 assists, and Nico Posivak totaled six digs for the evening.

A strong, offensive Penn State team was able to use the crowds' energy and home court advantage in their favor. Despite kills from Ben Harrington, Ryan Vena, and Brady Wedbush in the opening set, Penn State had two, seven-point scoring runs that gave the Nittany Lions an untouchable lead to take set one 25-14.

Princeton continued to battle in set two, only trailing Penn State by a slim margin throughout the set. Owen Mellon nabbed a kill for Princeton to have the Tigers trail 11-16 but following a number of service errors from the Orange and Black the Nittany Lions maintained a confident lead that won the home team set two, 25-18.

An exciting third set brought out each teams' grit and competitiveness. Set three was a back-and-forth battle between the Tigers and Nittany Lions. A Ryan Vena kill tied set three 18-18, and then a kill from Ben Harrington tied the set again at 20-20.

A Brady Wedbush kill saw the set tied for a final time at 21-21, but Penn State took a three point scoring run to get ahead and win the third set 25-22 and the match overall 3-0.

Junior, Ben Harrington was recognized following Saturdays championship in being named to the EIVA-All Tournament team for his performance in the 2023 post-season. Harrington led the Tigers in kills in the semifinals against NJIT with 16 on a .393 hitting percentage and added an additional five kills in Saturday's championships.

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