Princeton University Athletics
Men's Volleyball History
Early Princeton Volleyball was highlighted by determination and persistence as the program that began as a co-ed club sport was transformed in a short time into a varsity team contender in the Eastern Collegiate Volleyball League (ECVL). The Princeton Program began in 1969 when Alex Geiger '72, guided by Assistant Athletic Director Sam Howell, fielded a club team for the first time. Geiger, with the full support and cooperation of the Princeton Athletic Department, built the team and kept the program alive and moving forward: as player, recruiter, coach, captain, manager, match scheduler and away match travel organizer. In the 1970-71 season the team went 1-7.
The program took a giant leap forward in the 1971-72 season when Geiger, to fill out the existing team of sophs, juniors and seniors, recruited more than a half-dozen players, most of them freshmen from the Class of '75, after watching the annual Cane Spree match between the freshmen and sophomores. This team, which included the first women volleyball players Diane Heim and Joan Gudger, joined the ECVL and fielded a 10-13 record. Upon Geiger's graduation, setter Dave Agnew '75 sat out the 1972-73 season to coach the team, taking over Geiger's responsibilities and leading the team to a winning record for the first time. These two student-athlete coaches were the forces making it possible for a new program to develop and grow.
In 1973-74 the program leapt forward again when the university hired Susana Occhi, who had coached the University of Delaware program the year before, as the first full-time coach of the Men's Volleyball Team. Princeton Volleyball became a varsity sport that same year, and the Men's Team went 15-15. In 1974-75 the team named its first co-captains, Dave Agnew and Rob Reifsnyder '75, and achieved its most successful year to date, finishing 3rd in the ECVL with a record of 20-14. Susana began the Women's Team that year, coaching the Men's Team through 1975-76 and the Women's Team through 1983-84, and earning NCAA Coach of the Year honors.
Occhi hired young Assistant Coach Glenn Nelson in the late 1970's. The Volleyball Program entered the Nelson Era in 1979, when Glenn began serving as the Head Coach for the Men's Team, the Women's Team several years later, and coached both teams for the next 30 years! He would hold that position for more than 30 years — and more than 500 wins — before retiring after the 2009 season.
In 1998, the Tigers ended Penn State's dominant run as league champion with a 3-0 semifinal victory over the Nittany Lions. Two days later, Princeton defeated Rutgers-Newark 3-0 to win its only league title. The Tigers went to Hawaii for the 1998 NCAA Championships, where they fell to top-seeded Pepperdine in the semifinal.
Glenn Nelson, who also served as head coach of the women's team, won more than 1,000 matches during his tenure at Princeton. He was profiled on GoPrincetonTigers.com here, and he was recently inducted into the EIVA Hall of Fame.
Princeton had two AVCA All-Americas under Nelson in Marin Gjaja '91 and Derek Devens '98. In 2013, Cody Kessel was named a Volleyball Magazine 3rd Team All-American, and he joined Pat Schwagler on the All-EIVA First Team. Both Kessel (2012) and Schwagler (2010) were former EIVA Newcomers of the Year, and Kessel capped his career with AVCA Second-Team All-America honors in 2015. George Huhmann became Princeton's third EIVA Newcomer of the Year when he claimed the award in 2017. Huhmann was honored as the EIVA Player of the Year in 2019, the same year Princeton won the EIVA title for the first time since 1998.
The 2019 season also saw the Tigers advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, following a first round defeat of Barton College.
We would be interested in publishing testimonials here for any players to competed in either the club or varsity years with the men's volleyball team. If you would be interested, please email Sam Shweisky (shweisky@princeton.edu).
LINKS
Highlights from Princeton's 1998 NCAA Final Four match.
Vincent Tuminelli '12 produced a video with several Princeton volleyball alumni.
Head coach Sam Shweisky has produced several videos about the program, which you can see below.
Origin Stories
MAVRIC & Team Around The Team
Travel-Eating Clubs-Synergy-Alumni-Team USA
Team Role/Behind The Scenes
THE EARLY YEARS
Princeton men's volleyball has existed since the early 1970s, far before the day when it became a full varsity program in 1997. The dominant club program within the Ivy League over several decades, Princeton built a strong foundation for its modern success through both a club and club varsity program that won more than 500 matches. The link below shares images of those teams, as well as a pair of extended interviews with EIVA Hall of Famer Glenn Nelson, who shares countless thoughts and anecdotes about the history of Princeton Volleyball.
LINK: The Early Years Of Princeton Men's Volleyball