In a thrilling series showcasing the best of Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) play, No. 20 men’s volleyball (5–5 overall, 2–1 EIVA) traveled to West Virginia for a double-header against the Charleston Golden Eagles (6–7, 3–1) this weekend.
On Friday night, Charleston extended their perfect start to conference play with a 3–1 win against the Tigers in a highly competitive matchup that yielded scores of 26–24, 24–26, 24–26, and 16–25. On Saturday, Princeton returned the favor, snapping the Golden Eagles’ 3–0 conference start in a 3–1 victory: 25–16, 24–26, 25–21, 25–19.
Head Coach Sam Shweisky was proud of his team for “fighting back after a tough, tough loss [on Friday] night.”
“Getting the split on the weekend is super important in a league that’s going to be very tough, top-to-bottom,” Shweisky told The Daily Princetonian.
Despite finishing last in the EIVA standings last season, the Golden Eagles came into the matchup on an impressive four-game win streak and were the only team to start the conference 2–0.
“It’s a long trip down to Charleston, so, you know, giving the guys the right mindset that we’re going to be on the road, and getting down there and trying to play a tough team on their turf is always a challenge,” Shweisky commented.
Three sets go to deuce
Setting the tone, junior middle blocker Ryan Vena opened the first set of the weekend with a service ace. Vena, who missed the conference opener, impressed in his return to the court with a game-high four aces and the second-highest kills (nine) and digs (five) for the Tigers on Friday night.
Charleston’s Max Nissen responded with three kills, though, leaving the Tigers trailing 10–7. A 3–0 run, led by a combined block from co-captains senior setter Henry Wedbush and sophomore middle blocker Tristan Whitfield, leveled the score for the Tigers at 10–10.
It was all back-and-forth from there, with both teams exchanging service errors at 24–24, sending the first set to deuce. Charleston’s Xander Bomert, who has the most kills in the EIVA, missed his next hit, and sophomore hitter Jameson Vaccaro called the set with a kill of his own, 26–24.
The second set was even closer, with neither team picking up more than two consecutive points until a 23–21 Princeton lead. Three straight kills from Nissen flipped the lead, before a kill by senior pin hitter and captain Nyherowo Omene cut it back to 24–24, sending the second set to deuce. Charleston secured two more kills and won the second set 26–24.
Tied at 11–11 in the third, the Tigers opened up a 14–11 lead after a kill from Omene and two from Vaccaro. But Charleston’s squad depth responded, as the Golden Eagles got kills from four different players to level the game once again, 19–19.
“They have a really talented team, and they have a bunch of different guys that they were sort of rotating in and out,” said Shweisky. “I think we were a little bit slow to process some of their hitting tendencies in different rotations.”
Trailing 23–22, first-year libero Roan Alviar set up Omene for another kill to level the set. A final Omene kill sent the set to the third deuce of the night at 24–24, but once again the Golden Eagles got the final kill to win the third set 26–24.
The fourth and final set turned into a more defensive affair, with both teams producing their lowest kills of the night. What separated the two was a 4–0 Charleston run that propelled them forward and to which Princeton never responded, resulting in a 25–16 fourth-set defeat for the Tigers.
“It’s safe to say that everyone was pretty emotionally spent after the first three sets going the distance, which made the fourth set just that much more difficult,” Whitfield wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “That is, however, also why I’m so proud of our guys for how locked back in for the match on Saturday.”
Defensive dominance in game two
The Tigers looked more organized on Saturday. In the first set, Vena, Whitfield, and junior hitter Owen Mellon each blocked Nissen — Princeton recorded four blocks to Charleston’s zero. The Tigers breezed past Charleston’s defense in the first set, with Omene’s eighth kill of the day capping off a 25–16 win.
“Being able to just line up the hitters properly with our block was the key to win [on Saturday],” Shweisky commented. “Our assistant coach Joe Norton did an incredible job of doing the blocking defense and putting the guys in the right spots.”
The second set, however, was all back-and-forth; neither team collected more than two consecutive points until 24–24. The Golden Eagles once again won the clutch points, taking the second set 26–24.
Three kills from Mellon, two kills from Omene, and a block each from Rice and Vena gave the Tigers an early 10–6 lead in the third set. That early run proved to be the difference as the Tigers nabbed 2–1 set lead with a 25–21 win, courtesy of two kills at the end for Omene.
Omene went on to add five more kills in the fourth and final set to tally a whopping career-high 27 kills, nationally the second-most kills in one match this season. Wedbush, meanwhile, set a season-high 45 assists.
Wedbush had two consecutive blocks on Charleston’s Kai Cousins to spark an early 10–7 lead in the fourth set. A missed Golden Eagle serve ended the contest, and the Tigers celebrated the 25–19 fourth-set win.
The Tigers dominated on defense, doubling Charleston’s blocking 14–7. According to Whitfield, “it was [Vaccaro’s] blocking game plan that helped us shut down their best hitter.”
With this victory and NJIT’s upset over Penn State on Friday night, no team is undefeated in the EIVA after only three match days.
“The EIVA is going to be an absolute battle this year,” Whitfield added. “I see six out of the seven teams winning the conference with multiple ties for first. That is why I’m so glad we beat Charleston soundly tonight, as it may come all the way down to point differential.”
After a grueling weekend away, the Tigers return to Dillon Gymnasium on Friday at 7 p.m. to host their local rivals, the NJIT Highlanders (7–4, 2–2), who they defeated in their conference opener a week ago.
Bryant Figueroa is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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