April 19, 2006

Box Score

PRINCETON, NJ - Host Princeton, the fifth-seeded team in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, held off eighth-seeded New Jersey Institute of Technology, 3-1, in the first round of the EIVA playoffs Wednesday night.

The Highlanders, taking another step in their quest to return to the top echelon of Eastern men's college volleyball, made a gallant effort in their first postseason appearance since 2000. All four games on Wednesday were decided by two points--the smallest possible margin.

NJIT, which closes its season at 13-13 (the program's best wins total since the 2000 Highlanders won 16 matches), won the first game from Princeton, 32-30.

The Tigers then pulled even in games with a marathon 42-40 win. The Highlanders fought off game point seven times after a 29-29 tie, before finally succumbing after the score had been tied again, 40-40. By the same token, Princeton staved off game point three times before winning.

Game three also required extra points, with the Tigers winning, 32-30. Princeton closed out the match with a 30-28 victory in game four.

Leonardo Paludo led the NJIT offense with a match-high 27 kills, while Eduardo Welter notched 22 kills. Paludo's 13 digs were match-high and Rodrigo Correa had 56 assists for the Highlanders. Senior Brian Como led NJIT in blocks, with three in his final college match.

Princeton, which advances to face fourth-seeded Rutgers-Newark in the next round of the EIVA playoffs on Saturday, had four players with at least 15 kills each and Brandon Denham had 68 assists. Michael Vincent had a match-best 7 blocks for the Tigers, who enjoyed a 15-10 edge in team blocks.