NEWARK, N.J. --- For the second time in four days, the NJIT men's volleyball team pushed the EIVA-leading Princeton Tigers to the brink of an upset but fell just short of their goal as Princeton slipped past the Highlanders in another epic five-set match, 3-2, Friday night at the Wellness and Events Center.

Princeton moved to 10-8 on the season (8-1 EIVA) with the 25-20, 25-22, 19-25, 16-25, 16-14 victory while NJIT dropped to 4-11 (0-7 EIVA). 

Alvaro Gimeno led the NJIT offensive attack with a match-high 17 kills, with Jens Feldthus following behind with 12 of his own. Roque Nido led the Highlanders with 32 assists while Piotr Namiotko and Luca Berger each had ten blocks.

Friday's match in Newark followed Tuesday's meeting in Central Jersey set for set, with the Tigers taking a two-set lead, NJIT tying the score at 2-2, and the two teams battling in the fifth set.

NJIT held off Princeton early in the opening set and led 7-6 after a service error by the Tigers. A quick 3-0 spurt by Princeton put them ahead of the Highlanders for good, 9-7. NJIT pulled to within one point on four different occasions with the last coming on a Namiotko service ace that made the score 15-14. Princeton would outscore NJIT 10-6 down the stretch to put the first set on the board.

Set two began with more back-and-forth action as the teams tied the score three times en route to an early 4-4 score. Another run by Princeton - this time four unanswered points - moved them ahead of NJIT, 8-4. The Highlanders surged back in front with a 10-5 run of their own, taking a 14-13 lead on a double block from Namiotko and Enrique de Diego Garcia. After three more ties and a quick 18-17 lead by the Tigers, NJIT reached 20 points first with a Luca Berger kill and a pair of Princeton attack errors (20-18). The Highlanders' edge was short-lived, however, as Princeton scored the next five points (23-20) and seven of the next nine to seal the set. 

The Highlanders stormed back in the third to trim Princeton's overall lead in half. After the Tigers cut NJIT's early lead to 3-2, the Highlanders separated themselves with a 5-0 run that gave them an 8-2 advantage. NJIT converted a team match-high 13 attacks in the third set and hit .269 to win the third set as Princeton failed to pull within three points of NJIT the rest of the way.

NJIT was even better in the fourth set, using a match-best .524 hitting percentage (12 kills - 1 error - 21 attacks) to even the match. Princeton tried to reestablish itself early, scoring four of the first five points in the set. Six of the next nine points went the Highlanders' way as NJIT knotted the set at 7-7. The pivotal stretch for NJIT in the fourth came immediately after as a kill, three blocks and a Tiger attack error during a 5-1 run put the hosts up 12-8. NJIT kept the pressure on throughout the remainder of the set, forcing Princeton into two timeouts and leading by as many as eight points before a Namiotko and Berger double block set the final margin at nine (25-16).
With momentum in its favor and an enthusiastic crowd behind them, NJIT reached the midpoint of the fifth set first by taking an 8-6 lead on a Princeton serving error. Two more kills by Namiotko and Gimeno extended the Highlander lead to 10-6 before a 4-0 stretch from the Tigers brought the teams to another tie score, 10-10.

NJIT scored four of the next six points to reach match point at 14-12 but the Tigers finished of the match with a kill and three consecutive aces.

Princeton was led by George Huhmann (13 kills), Joe Kelly (42 assists), and Kendall Ratter (six digs).