Princeton University
3-1,0-0EIVA
UC San Diego
2-4,0-0Big West
Men's Volleyball Adds Another Win Against UC San Diego, 3-0
January 16, 2024 | Men's Volleyball
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The Princeton men's volleyball team took its third win of the season against UC San Diego Tuesday evening. This marks the Tiger's second straight set win of the 2024 season.
The match began with Ben Harrington delivering a service ace, a familiar sight. Following that, the Tigers embarked on a 5-0 scoring streak, with Harrington contributing three more service aces before UC San Diego called for a timeout to discuss their strategy.
After the pause, UC San Diego secured their first point in the match. Nyherowo halted the Triton's rapid scoring streak with a kill by Omene. Henry Wedbush, serving for Princeton, played a key role as the team reached its biggest lead at 11-6, further extending it to 12-6.
Princeton maintained a seven-point advantage, reaching their largest lead at 16-9. However, the Tritons staged a comeback, narrowing the deficit to 16-14. Yet, Harrington's triple block proved crucial in restoring the Tigers' scoring momentum.
The Tigers secured victory in the opening set with a score of 25-18, courtesy of an Omene kill, marking his third successful attack of the night.
In the beginning of the second set, the Tigers once again displayed a strong start, taking a commanding 6-1 lead. Ryan Vena's service error granted the Tritons their second point of the set. Owen Mellon, with a powerful ace from the service line, compelled UC San Diego to call for another timeout.
The Triton's came out of the timeout with back-to-back points before a service error to give the Tiger's their 9th point.
Princeton held a 12-6 advantage, marking their biggest lead in the second set. However, UC San Diego showed resilience and battled back, narrowing the score to 13-10. Harrington played a crucial role in halting this comeback attempt.
Nyherowo secured his second service ace, expanding the lead to 18-13. The Tigers then added to their momentum with another 2-0 scoring run. However, the opposing team mounted a comeback with a 5-0 scoring streak, making the second set more closely contested with a score of 23-20.
Princeton secured the victory in the second set with a score of 25-21. After two sets, Princeton was ahead in kills with 22 over 12 and in aces with 8 over 3.
The third set didn't differ from the first two as the Tigers started off holding a 6-4 lead, but the Triton's were able to even the score at 7.
The third set became a shootout with neither team taking more than a two-point advantage.
As the set continued, the score was tied at 20-20 before the Tigers broke away with a considerable advantage and went on a 4-0 run fueled by two service aces from Owen Mellon. Tigers went on to win the third set, 25-21, and win the match in straight sets.
Important Stat Leaders
- Points: Ben Harrington - 16
- Service Aces: Harrington, Mellon, Omene - 3
- Kills: Ben Harrington - 13
- Digs: Owen Mellon - 4
- Assists: Henry Wedbush - 32
Up Next
The Princeton men's volleyball team will face CSUN on January 19th at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT
