LORETTO, Pa. (March 27, 2010) - The Red Flash were to able to stop history from repeating itself against the Princeton Tigers, putting together a terrific fifth set to defeat their EIVA Tait rivals 3-2 (30-21, 20-30, 30-28, 26-30, 15-7) on Saturday in Loretto.
Exactly one month previous, the Tigers rallied back from a 2-1 deficit against the Red Flash to play a dominant fifth set and take a Tait victory from the Red Flash. This time, though, the Red Flash turned the tables and opened the fifth set on an 8-2 run that set the tone for the final stanza.
According to head coach Mike Rumbaugh, he was certain his team would rewrite the story with a happy ending this time around.
"We had been starting our sets really well, so I thought we had a great shot," said Rumbaugh. "I felt like we could win a sprint."
The Red Flash were led by Jordan Varee (Conneautville, PA/Conneaut Valley) (Conneautville, Pa./Conneaut Valley), who came up one dig shy of a triple-double. The senior opposite recorded 30 kills, 10 blocks and nine digs in perhaps the best all-around performance of any Red Flash player this season.
After opening the fifth set 8-2, the Tigers took a timeout and were able to briefly regroup. Pat Schwagler notched a quick kill, and the Tigers pulled to within 8-4. However, Pete Freyer (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) put away a pair of balls to build the lead back up for the Red Flash. A triple-block from Varee, Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) and Patrick McManamon (Huntingdon, PA/Huntingdon) (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) set the table for Rivett to end the match with a kill, 15-7.
The Flash move to 9-10 overall, with a 2-4 record in the EIVA Tait. Princeton goes to 7-7 overall, with a 3-4 record in the EIVA Tait.
The first set was tied at 6-6 when the Red Flash started a 4-0 run on a Varee kill. Schwagler notched a kill to set the score at 12-10 and put a scare in the Red Flash, and the teams battled to a 17-15 SFU lead on a Varee attack error. The Flash countered with a 5-1 run that featured a Freyer ace and was punctuated by a Rivett kill to make it 21-16. After a timeout, the Red Flash raced to the finish line with a 9-5 run, with Tyler Mattera (Conneautville, PA/Conneaut Valley) (Conneautville, Pa./Conneaut Valley) ripping an ace for the winner.
The Tigers bounced back in the second set, taking a big 16-10 lead midway through the set on a Carl Hamming kill. The lead would balloon to ten as the Tigers hit .400 in their 30-20 victory. The Red Flash would step up in the third set, though, using strong defense and timely hitting to pull out the win. The Red Flash notched 7.5 total team blocks in the third set in comparison to just one for the Tigers, with Varee leading the way with six total in the set. With the score tied at 27-27 late, it was a pair of blocks from the Pete Freyer (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park)/Jordan Varee (Conneautville, PA/Conneaut Valley) combo to put the Red Flash at set point, which they got on a Varee kill.
The fourth set began with the Red Flash holding a 7-4 lead, with a Varee kill forcing a Princeton timeout. The Red Flash led by as many as four at 16-12, but the lead slowly slipped away and become a Princeton advantage thanks to three consecutive Pat Schwagler kills. The Red Flash would pull within one, but the Tigers would score of the final five points to make it 30-26.
Two players besides Varee recorded double-digit kills - Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) (11) and Pete Freyer (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) (13). Freyer also notched 10 blocks for the second double-double of both his season and career. Ryan Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) had 54 assists, and Mattera had a match-high three of the team's eight aces. Both Rivett and Varee tied the team-high with nine digs, while John Wappler (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) (Warrendale, Pa./North Allegheny) had eight.
