Men's Volleyball: Tigers suffer tough season

Last season, the men’s volleyball team hired head coach Sam Shweisky, who led the squad to an appearance in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association finals for the first time since 1990. There, the Tigers fell to undefeated Penn State, who would later be defeated by Stanford in the finals of the NCAA tournament. Shweisky was named the 2010 EIVA Bob Sweeney Coach of the Year.

In comparison, this year was Shweisky’s sophomore slump. Plagued with the losses of outside hitter Carl Hamming ’10 and middle blocker Jeff McCown ’10, as well as the absence of sophomore outside hitter Pat Schwagler, the team struggled to find a rhythm.

Despite veteran leadership from senior outside hitter Vincent Tuminelli — who was injured throughout the season — and senior middle blocker Keenan McCarthy, the team struggled to a disappointing 3-19 record, failing to make the EIVA playoffs and winning only one conference match.

Those three wins were impressive, though, and show signs of promise. In wins against Hope International, Juniata and St. Francis, the Tigers outscored their opponents nine games to two.

The team had many newcomers who will make a dent in coming years. While junior Scott Liljestrom played much of the time as the starting setter, freshman Davis Waddell also earned playing time at the position. Freshman outside hitter Jeff Stapleton led the team in attacks, kills, points and service aces. Even sophomore middle blocker Michael Dye, who emerged as a strong player in the 2010 postseason, showed himself capable as a versatile player during the season, second to Stapleton in offensive categories and Tuminelli in defensive ones.

The postseason also saw junior libero Dexter Scobee named to one of the 14 spots on the 2011 EIVA All-Academic Team. Scobee started as the libero for the team this season and was instrumental in a close match against Harvard in early April.

The team graduates Tuminelli, who recorded an impressive 26 kills, 14 digs, one error and .510 hitting percentage in his final game, as well as McCarthy and setter John Morris. With five freshmen and three sophomores notching another season under their belts, Princeton volleyball fans can bet that the underclassmen will rally the team next season.