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Princeton and UC San Diego will once again renew their near annual non-conference rivalry during the upcoming season.
UC San Diego as part of recently unveiling its 2017 schedule announced that the Tritons will play host to the Tigers in an early-season non-conference match on Feb. 1.
This will be the third consecutive year Princeton and UC San Diego have scheduled a non-conference match against each other. The two programs also have played each other in all but two seasons since the rally scoring era started in 2001.
The Tritons lead the all-time series 15-6 but the teams have split their last four matches since 2012.
UC San Diego in the match last season rallied from a one-game deficit and overcame a match-high 33 kill performance from former Princeton outside attacker Devin Stearns to beat the Tigers in five games.
Despite finishing non-conference play 5-1, the Tritons ended last season in last place in the MPSF. UC San Diego, though, returns a majority of starters for the upcoming season, including opposite Tanner Syftestad who led the team with a 2.84 kills per game average in 2016.
Princeton ended last season in seventh place in the EIVA and did not qualify for the conference tournament for the first time since the event changed to a four-team tournament in 2012.
Among the Princeton starters returning from last season’s team includes all-conference setter Chris Kennedy. The Tigers also have two highly touted middle attackers on their roster for the upcoming season.
All-EIVA middle attacker Junior Oboh returns to the court, while freshman George Huhmann joins Princeton after helping U.S. Men’s Junior National Team this summer clinch a berth to the 2017 U21 FIVB World Championship.
The match versus Princeton will be one of four home non-conference matches for UC San Diego in the upcoming season.
UC San Diego will play Grand Canyon in its home opener on Jan. 7 and Hope International on Jan. 21. It also will have a home-and-home series with Concordia-Irvine in 2017.