NEWARK, NJ – Rutgers-Newark got 17 kills on .500 hitting from senior middle hitter
Jon Keller, but Princeton rallied for a 3-2 win over Rutgers-Newark in The Golden Dome. Set scores were 28-30, 30-14, 27-30, 30-28, 15-7 in the 2-hour, 5-minute marathon.
Princeton 3, Rutgers-Newark 2
Keller who also chipped in five assisted blocks and an ace. Junior setter
Jeff Zornig posted 61 assists, three aces and nine digs for the Raiders.
The Scarlet Raiders (13-12) played their ninth 5-setter of the season falling for the seventh time in the extended matches.
Freshman middle hitter
Mark Kochan tallied 17 points on a dozen kills, a career-high four solo blocks and two assisted blocks for Rutgers-Newark while sophomore outside hitter
Marcin Midura chipped in 13 kills, nine digs and an ace. Sophomore outside hitter
Eduardo Hernandez registered 10 kills, an ace and a solo block for the Raiders.
Junior outside hitter Vincent Tuminelli had a match-high 25 kills to lead Princeton. Tuminelli hammered down six kills on just seven swings without an error in the fifth set as the Tigers (13-9) hit .800 (8 kills, no errors, 10 attacks) for the frame. Tuminelli and freshman outside hitter Pat Schwagler had seven kills apiece as Princeton hit .400 (19-5-35) in the fourth set to force the fifth.
Schwagler notched a dozen kills, an ace and a solo block while Tuminelli also had two solo blocks, three assisted blocks and an ace. Senior middle blocker Jeff McCown hit .643 (10-1-14) as the Tigers hit .317 for the match. Princeton had two errorless frames, hitting .600 (12-0-20) in the second set.
In set one, Midura had six kills as the Raiders hit .306 to come from behind for the win. Keller and senior teammate
Nate Stott got in on back-to-back blocks to spell the difference in the frame. Keller and Stott played their final home match.
Zornig fueled a balance attack in the third set to give the Raiders the edge at 2-1, but Princeton clawed back for the second time to force a deciding set.
Rutgers-Newark now awaits its opening round pairing for the EIVA Championship Tournament which begins no Saturday, April 24.