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Check out all the college men’s volleyball matches to follow today and how to follow the matches live.
Princeton (15-12, 10-6 EIVA) vs. North Greenville (20-5, 12-2 ConfCarolinas)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. in Los Angeles
Follow live: Live stats, Live video, In-match tweets
All-time series: Princeton leads 1-0
Most recent series meeting: Princeton swept North Grenville in 2017.
How they reached the NCAA Tournament: Princeton defeated NJIT in the EIVA Tournament finals, while North Greenville defeated Mount Olive in the NCAA Tournament finals.
NCAA Tournament championships: Princeton (none); North Greenville (none)
NCAA Tournament record: Princeton (1-2); North Greenville (0-0)
NCAA Tournament appearances: Princeton (1998, 2019, 2022); North Greenville (2022)
What to know: Princeton and North Greenville share a lot in common, even down to their food preferences. The two teams after arriving Friday afternoon in Los Angeles each separately decided to go to the same In-N-Burger near the airport and arrived within five minutes of each other. The Crusaders and Tigers will now meet again, but this time on the court and with a spot in the NCAA Tournament opening round on the line. North Greenville is making its program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament and is attempting to become the first ConfCarolinas school to win a match in the NCAA Tournament. Two freshmen helped lead the Crusaders to their first conference title. Freshman opposite Gregory Torres is among the national leaders with a 3.38 kills per game average. Torres had double-digit kills and hit more than .400 in both ConfCarolinas Tournament matches, including a season-high 25 kills on a .435 attack percentage in a finals win against Mount Olive. Along with Torres, freshman middle attacker Michael de la Cruz is in the nation’s top 20 with a 0.49 aces per game average, a 0.93 blocks per game average and a .382 attack percentage. de la Cruz also was named a finalist for the Division II National Player of the Year. While North Greenville is on a seven-match winning streak, Princeton enters the NCAA Tournament on a nation-best 10-match winning streak. The Tigers, which returned to the court in 2022 after opting out of the 2021 season because of the coronavirus pandemic, were 5-12 at the start of their winning streak. Among the biggest victories of the winning streak was a five-game victory against Penn State in the EIVA Tournament semifinals. Outside attacker Ben Harrington in the upset finished with a team-high 21 kills on a .415 attack percentage. Harrington is fourth in the EIVA averaging 3.36 kills per game and has seven consecutive matches with double-digit kills and more than a .325 attack percentage. The sophomore most recently had a season-high 24 kills and hit .476 as Princeton defeated NJIT in the EIVA Tournament finals. The Tigers in the championship win used multiple setters with Henry Wedbush replacing Joe Kelly midway through the match. Princeton coach Sam Shweisky said in an interview with Off the Block earlier this week that he has yet to decide who will start at setter against North Greenville. This NCAA Tournament will also cap off the coaching career of Fred Battenfield. Battenfield, who is North Greenville’s inaugural coach, announced earlier this year he would retire at the end of the season.