California Baptist University
Princeton
Middle Men
1/31/2012 5:05:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
By Daniel Cross Sports information Graduate Intern
RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- Facing two big losses on the road last week California Baptist University turned things around Monday night beating Princeton in four sets.
CBU won 25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 25-13, tallying the second win on the Lancers' season.
"I am very proud of how the team responded with tonight's victory," said Interim Head Coach Allan Vince. "Defense wins games and when you can have everyone clicking together, volleyball can be played beautifully. I was impressed with how we responded after losing the second set, everyone did a great job of making the point to execute."
The Lancers hit a booming .607 with 20 kills and only three errors, in the opening set. The Tigers, on the other side hit .462 with 13 kills and only one error. The Lancers suffered five service errors, but managed to out-dig (11-3) and tally more assists (19-12) than the Tigers.
With the score tied at 14-14 Jonathan Tuttle pounded the ball straight into the ground to give the Lancers the lead at 15-14. The Lancers would never lose the lead after that and would even go on to lead by as much as four.
The score changed hands only once, but was tied a total of 10 times.
The second game was all Tigers, as they led by as much as five and out-hit the Lancers .409 to .276. The Lancers continued to have more kills, digs, and assists then the Tigers, but would fall because of six service errors and six attacking errors.
Although the Lancers hit .037 in the third set, they managed to dig down deep and take control of the third in a battle of wits. The score changed hands three different times and was tied 10 times.
Both teams never led by as much as two throughout the majority of the game, but Lancer Jon Waber decided to turn on the heat and land a big spike, moving the Lancer lead to three at 18-15.
The Lancers meant business as they went into the fourth leading by as much as 11. Starting off the set with a 10-3 lead, the Lancers never looked back and took the set and match easily. The Lancers hit .579 and had 12 kills in the fourth, while the Tigers hit .107 and had 11 kills.
"We will take this victory tonight, but we still need to learn from our mistakes," said Vince. "I liked the way our guys surrounded each other with positive reinforcement and am looking forward to the rest of the season."
Lancers Joseph Fitzpatrick, Kristopher Johnson, and Waber hit over .450 on the night. Connor Metcalfe finished with 46 assists and as a team the Lancers had a total of 40 digs.
CBU will go on the road to face Ohio State and Penn State in the Penn State Invitational Feb. 3-4.
