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The path for EIVA teams to make the NCAA Tournament is going through Princeton.
Pin-hitter Nyherowo Omene had a match-high 19 kills and added seven blocks as No. 19 Princeton defeated Penn State 25-22, 25-27, 25-18, 25-23 on Friday to win the EIVA regular season championship.
Princeton as the regular season champion earned the right to host the six-team EIVA Tournament next week and a bye to the semifinals. This is the first time the Tigers will play host and be the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament since winning their last EIVA championship in 2019.
Omene led all players with seven kills in the final game of the road victory against Penn State. The pin-hitter also had four of those kills and a block late in the game to help the Tigers overcome a 21-17 deficit, including having the match-winning kill.
Along with the offensive performance, Omene was one of three Tigers with more than five blocks.
Middle attacker Ryan Vena opened the match with back-to-back blocks and finished with a match-high nine blocks. Setter Henry Wedbush contributed eight blocks to help Princeton extend its winning streak to eight matches.
Wedbush also guided the offense to out-hit Penn State .273 to .115.
Penn State was limited to less than .100 attack percentage in three of the four games. In addition, all but two Nittany Lions hit more than .250.
Pin-hitter Gaige Gabriel in the loss finished with 10 kills on a team-best .400 attack percentage and added a team-high six blocks.
Penn State with this loss remains in second place in the EIVA. The Nittany Lions still have a chance to earn the No. 2 seed and a bye to the conference tournament semifinals if they beat the Tigers in the regular-season finale on Saturday.