Touted as the best team in our division and number one in pre-season polls, TCNJ came in confident they would dispose of us easily (as was apparent on their Captain's away message encouraging fans to come out and watch them win [although as Jon pointed out, it's better than encouraging people to come watch their team get clobbered]).  However, it was not to be tonight as a depleted Princeton squad started its season with an opening victory for the first time in several years.  The first game was sloppy due to the short warm up time, but overcoming an early deficit, the Tigers rallied to take it by three points.  It was apparent to everyone except their blockers that Zeid was going to be pounding the ball tonight.  Game two went on without a hitch, with Zeid continuing to be the go-to guy, hitting balls from everywhere on the court.  Game three saw Princeton ease up a bit leading to a 15-20 deficit at which point it seemed that TCNJ just wanted to go home as they conceded eight straight points.

Game ball: Zeid (honorable mention to Steve for his first libero performance)

Widener 25-13, 25-20, 25-21 

Swarthmore 25-7, 25-11, 25-10

There's really not much to say except that we spent more time driving to Widener than playing BOTH of our matches.  Steve opened his setting debut with some terrific sets in both game 3's, and Zeid continued to look strong at Opposite.  Princeton looks forward to some tougher volleyball despite starting its season 3-0 (9-0 in games).

Game ball: Paul/Steve

York 23-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-18

Altoona 25-17, 25-15, 25-20

The first test of the season came this Saturday in York, Pennsylvania.  York started the day by handing Altoona a heavy defeat and looked forward to beating Princeton in the second match in front of their relatively large fan base.  They started the match by winning 25-23, in a first game that proved to be Princeton's worst game.  Rallied by phenomenal hitting by Jon, superb defense by Steve, and brick wall like blocking by Dries, Princeton proceeded to win the next three games without too much suspense.

PS Altoona was just overmatched and overpowered as strong serving by Zeid, continued good play by Jon, and another solid setting performance by Steve led Princeton to a sweep.

Game ball: Jon

On the second long road trip of the weekend, Princeton headed to Kutztown.  Despite the optically-challenged gym, Princeton again just overpowered its opponent.  The match didn't see the level of volleyball Princeton had produced the day before, but with the season debuts of Sameer and Dave, we were able to continue our strong season opening.  The match again saw strong serving by Zeid, a good swinging performance by Sameer and Dave, and a solid outing by the rest.

Game ball: Sameer/Zeid

St. Joseph's 25-15, 26-24, 25-16

Another sweep by Princeton was marked by a tight second game that brought Jarrett to the forefront as he unleashed his earth-shattering middle hits on St. Jo's.  Princeton did not play up to it's full capacity, but played well enough to win.

Rowan 22-25, 25-23, 13-25, 25-18, 13-15

It was a quiet peaceful Sunday afternoon.  The weather had been delightful and would provide a stark contrast to the storm that was to ensue in Glassboro, NJ.  Would this be the first roadblock in Princeton's undefeated season, or would the Tigers continue their streak?  Their was an air of mystery around the match... How good is Rowan? How will Princeton fare without their love-struck golden boy?  What is the difference between a borough and a township?  All questions the average size crowd would be asking themselves for they were about to witness the "Rumble in Rowan"...  The first game started and Princeton came out shaky.  Errant passing, defensive mistakes, and hitting errors lead to an early deficit.  Unable to fully comeback the Tigers dropped the first game by three points.  In the second game, the Tigers still had not reached their peak but a reduction in mistakes allowed them to squeak out a two point victory.  However, a third game would require another switching of sides and sides (as any good generalizing economist would tell you) had a very strong correlation with the outcome.  The third game would be the Tigers' worst.  Unable to really play volleyball in any capacity, Rowan pasted the Tigers en route to a 25-13 victory.  But their celebration would be short lived as the Tigers would finally put together their best performance in game four.  Destructive blocking by their setter, solid hitting by Paul in the middle, and a "Jon at York" type of killing percentage by Yoav led the Tigers to a quick fourth game victory and an evening of the overall game score at 2-2.  Next came the crucial moment of the match (according to probabilists present): the coin toss.  An improbable loss in the toss left Princeton back on the 'bad' side on which they quickly spotted Rowan an 8-4 lead.  Luckily, the eighth point meant another switching of sides.  This is when Yoav said unto himself, "We shall not be schwooped by Rowan in this fifth and final game on this leap year day in February, if I have anything to do about it."  Five points later (including four kills by Yoav) and Princeton was back on top 9-8.  A brief series of miscues allowed Rowan to take an 11-9 lead, and after trading points, the Profs had finally tamed the Tigers in a five-set epic battle.  One Rowan was unable to fully recover from as they dropped their next match to TCNJ.

Game balls: St. Jo's - Jarrett, Rowan - Yoav and Corey

An overmatched PS Abington team came into Princeton having yet to win a match in conference play.  Today, would be no different as the Tigers dominated the match which included superb hitting by their middles.

Game ball: Jarrett

 The Tigers would face the Dragons in a battle of second placed teams in the Eastern Division of the MACVC.  With each team having one loss, this match would be pivotal for seeding purposes in the Conference championships.  Due to its importance, the match would be Princeton's first televised match (many thanks to Corey's dad) of the year.  The first game was a sloppy one, with both teams struggling to put together any solid play.  Weak serve receive and errant serving led to a 26-24 win by Drexel.  Despite the early loss, the Tigers felt they could overcome their mistakes and rebound, but a continued lack of focus led to many unforced errors and an 17-21 deficit with Yoav rotating around to serve.  That's when the two outside hitters (Yoav and Jon) decided they would not lose this game.  Yoav's serving and Jon's hitting led to a quick rally sparked by a spectacular dig (which was also a kill) by Yoav [Play of the day #1].  The always pivotal Game 3 would live up to its importance as it was a nail biter throughout.  With neither team able to sustain any long rallies, the game would go into 'extra points'.  The game was best summarized with a superb up by Corey.  He was able to 'pancake' the ball keeping the point alive [Play of the day #2].  Jon continued his excellent hitting with Zeid and Jarrett also coming up with big hits and blocks, and the Tigers eked out a victory in the game by a score of 31-29.  The final game marked a trend that has plagued the Tigers' opposing teams, and that is the "Just want to go home" tendency.  A total domination at the net by Jarrett and rock-steady consistent serving by Dries led to a 21-7 point lead, and an eventual win of 25-12.  The third Play of the day was recorded by Jarrett who roofed one guy so hard, the ball actually bounced off of his foot and up.  At this point 2/3 of the Princeton team was celebrating the block until they realized the point was not over.  Getting the ball back just meant another kill for the Tigers and the fat lady had sung.  The win today means the Tigers will face the division-leading Eastern Eagles on Thursday.

Game balls: Yoav and Jarrett

 The final home match of the season and for the departing seniors/graduating graduate students (Corey, Dries and Jarrett) would be the Tigers' most important match of the season thus far.  Coming in with a division record of 6-1, Princeton would face the 7-0 Eastern Eagles.  According to the MACVC website, the Eagles have been the surprise team of the season having only dropped two matches (both out of division).  They had played well against the traditional power houses of Messiah, Millersville, and Lock Haven.  However, Princeton has also amassed an impressive record with its only loss coming in a five set thriller to Rowan.  So, today's match would be a challenging one for both teams.

The first game commenced and it was obvious this would be a battle.  Both teams flexed their impressive offensive muscle in order to try and intimidate the other team.  With both teams playing well offensively, it would come down to the defensive side of the ball.  Despite it being Princeton's traditional downfall, the Tigers came through with great blocking and solid digging on their way to capturing the first game by a three point margin.  The second game followed in a similar style as the first.  Close throughout, it was again the blocking and defensive effort from Princeton that pulled them through on route to a 2-0 lead.  In the third and final game, the Tigers (especially the middles) continue to stifle the Eastern offense by putting up a wall at the net.  Frustration set in on the Eagles and left the Tigers alone at the top of the table.

The overall play of the team was the best I have seen in my four year here.  Superb hits by everyone including a head rattler by Zeid and an absolute crush on the final point of the match by Corey.  Everyone deserves a game ball for this one and hopefully the Tigers can duplicate this performance in the conference championships.

Game balls: the entire team

The farthest away match of the season was needed to complete all the requirements for entry into the conference championships.  Due to injuries and theses, Princeton would be missing four of its six starters.  But that did not stop them from dominating the overmatched Bucknell team.  The matched started with a run of ten points of the first Princeton server and we never looked back.  Martin dominated the outside including an unblocked two that he cranked (luckily for them) in the middle of the court.  I say luckily because they were not as lucky when Cristoff and Zeid hit and inflicted some damage on some of the opposing players.  The victory solidified Princeton's prowess and with one regular season game left, the Tigers had only dropped five games and one match this season.

Game ball: Martin

The final match of the season would not be Princeton's finest.  A win over Haverford would clinch Princeton's division title.  Again lacking a few key players, the Tigers struggled tremendously to get their act together.  Bad passing, equally bad setting, and mediocre hitting put the Tigers in close games throughout, but with Paul's nearly perfect killing percentage, Princeton was able to eek out a victory.

The Tigers finished 12-1 in regular season play, having dropped only 5 sets (games) all year.  The result is one divisional title under their belt and a search for a conference title this weekend.

Game ball: Paul

Pool Play

The first match of the day would come against Bloomsburg.  Being that it was early in the morning and the first match for the Tigers, it was a sloppy one.  But, Bloomsburg was clearly overmatched and the Tigers were able to easily defeat them in 2 games.  In the second match of the day, the Tigers would face a familiar East Division foe in the Lions of TCNJ.  Continued sloppy play (including destructive setting) led a loss in game one of the match.  But Princeton would rally as the middles (Jarrett and Paul) and an uprising by Martin on the right side overpowered the Lions and took it to game 3.  Game 3 would be over quickly as the Tigers steamrolled their way in preparation for the top seed in their pool (Millersville).
The Millersville match would be Princeton's best and worst.  A closely contested game with solid hitting from all sides left the Tigers ahead by one game.  In the second game, Princeton continued its strong play and took what looked like a clinching 20-12 lead.  This would be the peak of Princeton's play in the tournament.  Leading the #3 seed by 8 in the second game after winning the first, the Tigers were looking at a bye into the quarterfinals.  However, complete paralysis on serve receive, a questionable call by the ref, a couple of poor hits, and all of  sudden the Tigers had given up the lead.  They were unable to recover in the game, nor the game after as they quickly lost the third and decisive game.  The loss meant the Tigers would have to turn around and play another match to reach the quarterfinals and fatigue (both mentally and physically) was starting to affect the team...

Game ball: Martin, Jarrett, Jon, Corey

Challenge Round

After the pool play was settled, the road to the championship became a similar road to the division title, as the Tigers would need to beat both Drexel and Eastern to reach the semifinals...  The Drexel match was uneventful and uninspiring and its only effect was to increase the fatigue factor accross the board.  The Tigers played solid in the first game, winning handily.  They struggled in the second game early, but were able to come back and finish of the Dragons.

Game ball: Dries (because he never gets one)

Quarterfinals

Princeton's quarterfinal match would be a rematch of the division championship played a week before.  In that match, the Tigers dominated the Eastern Eagles on route to a 3-0 victory.  Today would be a different story, as a deflated, tired, and uninspired team sleepwalked their way to a 25-10 loss in game one.  A clever complete overhaul of the team (by captain Zeid), seemed to reenergize the Tigers and they played significantly better challenging all the way to the end.  However, an overpowering performance by their huge middle pulled the Eagles ahead at the end and Princeton would reach the end of its storied season.  Bigups to all of the seniors/leaving grad students: Corey, Jarrett, and Dries.

Game ball: Zeid