No. 19 Princeton Battles Out 3-2 Victory Over Harvard to Complete Sweep

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PRINCETON, N.J. – In a gritty, five-set battle, the Princeton men's volleyball team prevailed 3-2 (23-25, 26-24, 25-21, 16-25, 15-13) over Harvard on Saturday evening in Dillon Gym.

With the win, Princeton improves to 13-9 on the season and 9-1 in the EIVA, at the top of the league table.

Celebrating his senior day, Nyherowo Omene led the Tigers with 25 kills, also adding two aces and five digs. Fellow '25 classmate Henry Wedbush led the Tigers with 43 assists.

Defensively, Ryan Vena had a team-high four blocks, while first-year Roan Alviar led the team with seven digs.

How It Happened
Seemingly picking up where they left off last night, Princeton and Harvard entered the match going nearly point-for-point as they settled in to what would be a close first set. After a knot at 7-7, Harvard built up a narrow lead which they maintained throughout the set, and with the Tigers trailing by as little as one point at 22-21, Crimson would take the first set 25-23.

Looking to tie it up in set two, the Tigers came out with an early narrow lead. Again, though, it was the Crimson who would hold an advantage throughout the bulk of the set as the Tigers tied it at 16 and again at 18. Princeton and Harvard would trade the lead five more times as both sides raced toward set point, but with kills from Omene and Jameson Vaccaro, it was the Tigers who would take the set 26-24.

In set three, after a brief back-and-forth through six points, the Tigers took off with a lead of their own as they outpaced the Crimson by two points throughout the majority of the set. Omene, notching seven kills in this set alone, propelled the Tigers forward towards set point. With a set score of 25-21, Princeton took the lead, 2-1.

The Crimson, looking to equalize, built an early lead in set four that the Tigers would not be able to overcome, and Harvard would tie the match with a 25-16 fourth set.

With the sweep on the line in front of an energetic Dillon crowd, Princeton entered set five determined to come away with the win. Harvard held onto a small lead for the first half of the set, but with the Tigers consistently chipping away, they were able to equalize at eight, nine, and 10 points. It was again the Crimson who took the lead late at 13-10, but the Tigers remained resilient.

Fittingly on senior day, it was the Tigers' class of 2025 who would seal the win for Princeton as Omene made two more clutch kills and Wedbush came up with a big ace to bring the Tigers within set point.
Looking to finally decide the match in favor of the Tigers, Tristan Whitfield and Mason Rice went up for a block, finding the floor to end the set 15-13 and send Dillon into a frenzy as Princeton came away with the 3-2 win.

Of Note

Whitfield contributed four kills on seven attempts for a team-high .571 percent, as the sophomore captain also contributed one ace and three digs.
Vaccaro tallied a team second-best seven kills, going along with one ace and four digs on the night.

Up Next
Princeton will fight for the EIVA regular season title and the chance to host the conference tournament next weekend as they take on Penn State on the road. The Nittany Lions and the Tigers will face off at 7 p.m. on Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday.

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