On Wednesday night, the men’s volleyball team (3–6 overall, 0–0 EIVA) dropped a match to the California State University Northridge (CSUN) Matadors (6–5, 0–0 Big West) in a five set thriller at Dillon Gymnasium (25–27, 25–17, 25–15, 30–32, 11–15).
The Matadors traveled east fresh off a historic 3–2 upset victory at home against No. 6 Stanford (7–2, 0–0). The Tigers, on the other hand, are in the midst of a losing season.
An electric start to the contest saw both squads tied at 12–12. After both teams traded points, the Matadors hit the net after a serve from senior outside hitter Nate Thompson, paving the way for the Tigers to take a 17–14 lead, their largest of the first set.
The Matadors, however, would fight back by scoring five straight points to take a commanding 19–17 lead. Junior outside hitter Ben Harrington, who led the Tigers with 19 kills on the night, kept the Tigers alive with two more kills to tie up the contest at 24–24. Unfortunately for Princeton, the Tigers never quite regained the lead, and the Matadors took the first set 27–25.
“We did some great things tonight. CSUN had a better night, but we’ll try and learn from it,” said head coach Sam Shweisky to The Daily Princetonian. “The mindset has always been growth minded. We try to get better with every practice and every match we play. Wins and losses are important, but the goal is to peak at the right time come playoff time.”
The second set was a different story for Princeton. The Tigers came out determined to tie the match and led 5–1 early on, forcing a timeout by CSUN. After a kill by sophomore right-side hitter Nyherowo Omene, the Tigers had a comfortable 9–2 lead.
CSUN would fail to find its footing in the second set, never taking the lead and making multiple errors. A kill by Harrington gave the Tigers the second set with a convincing 25–17 scoreline. Shweisky had nothing but praise for Harrington.
“My biggest regret is that he lost his year of COVID eligibility,” said Shweisky. “He’s incredible, and he keeps doing more and more. I just wish we had more time with him and more arms like him.”
It was once again Harrington who was doing it all for Princeton to start the third set. After a kill and two aces, the Tigers created a 9–3 lead. Junior middle blocker Gavin Leising had two more aces for the Tigers, who controlled the third set.
An important kill by senior outside hitter Brady Wedbush, followed by an ace from Omene, gave Princeton a commanding 22–14 lead. On set point, following a Matadors return, the Tigers recorded a triple block to take the third set, 25–15.
The fourth set was a thriller. After a CSUN serve went wide left, Princeton found themselves with a 12–8 lead, halfway to victory. However, the Matadors would rally back, and a 5–1 run tied the affair at 13–13.
First-year middle blocker Ryan Vena and Harrington contributed a kill each to tie the game at 19–19, forcing a CSUN timeout. Coming off the timeout, a determined Matadors team went on a 5–1 run, forcing set point at 24–20. Kills from Omene, Wedbush, and Harrington tied the set at 24–24 and showed the resilient side of this Tigers squad.
After four failed match points in the fourth set, CSUN would capitalize off the Tigers' errors, forcing a 32–30 fourth-set victory for the Matadors and a deciding fifth set.
“I think that we played a great game against a great opponent,” Harrington told the ‘Prince.’ “I think it comes down to our stamina. We’re playing a very close game, but our opponents are getting a couple extra points than us, winning points in critical situations. Finding a way to have our stamina in the later sets is key.”
In the fifth and final set, Princeton would find themselves in a hole early on, as the Matadors jumped out to a 4–0 lead and forced a Tigers timeout. Princeton would bounce back immediately, cutting the deficit to one at 6–5.
After a Harrington block and a triple block kill by the Tigers, they tied the set at 11–11. Three straight kills from CSUN would force a match point, where they would convert for a fourth straight kill, a 15–11 fifth set win, and an overall Matadors 3–2 victory.
The Tigers will return to Dillon Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 11 when they take on St. Francis Brooklyn (3–4, 0–0) at 5 p.m. to open conference play in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Conference (EIVA). Coverage will be live on ESPN+.
“We’re very hungry,” Harrington added. “The losses will fuel us, and we’ll come into the conference like a new team. We’ve been working on a lot of things, watching film, and I believe we’ll be a dangerous team come conference play.”
Hayk Yengibaryan is an assistant editor for the Sports section at the ‘Prince.’
Please direct any corrections requests to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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