Box Score
 
PRINCETON, NJ—Princeton had three players reach double-figures in the kills category led by Cody Kessel (22 kills), as the NJIT men's volleyball team fell short Wednesday, 3-2, in men's volleyball EIVA conference action at Dillion Gymnasium.
 
The Highlanders won the first two frames, 27-25 and 25-18 taking a 2-0 lead but it was the Tigers who battled back to win the next three sets to take the match, 25-20, 25-21 and 15-13.
 
Princeton improves to 12-9 overall on the season and 6-7 in the conference while the Highlanders fall to 11-17 on the year, 5-8 in the EIVA.
 
The Tigers' Kessel posted a match-high 22 kills followed by Jeff Stapleton's 14 and Michael Dye's 11 kills in the victory.  Stapleton hit a team-best .370 (14k, 4e, 27a).
 
Setter Scott Liljestrom was one dig shy a double-double finishing the match with 52 assists and nine digs.  Princeton's Tony Ensbury posted a team-best 13 digs as Liljestrom added nine and Kessel with eight.
 
Defensively, Kessel combined for seven blocks and Dye added five total blocks as the home team held a slight advantage at the net in total team blocks 13-to-11.
 
NJIT was paced by Kevin Van Oss and Doug Battersby's 11 kills while freshman Chris Kaepernick posted 10.  Van Oss finished the match with a .400 hitting percentage (11k, 3e, 20a) while senior Adam Gustafson hit .500 with six kills on 10 swings with just one error.
 
Gustafson, the Highlanders setter piled up 35 assists in five sets while backup setter Zak Robben added 11 assists in two sets for the Highlanders.
 
Junior libero Brady Smith dug-up a match-high 15 digs for the Highlanders followed by Gustafson's nine and Kaepernick's eight digs.
 
Battersby, Van Oss and Herman Kantushov each combined for four total blocks for the Highlanders in front of the net.  Gustafson combined for three total blocks for NJIT.
 
The Highlanders will close out the 2012 regular season at Sacred Heart on Saturday, April 21 at 4pm.