Princeton, N.J. (4/11/12) – The Kean University men's volleyball team fell in their final regular season match of the season to Division I Princeton University, 3-2, Wednesday evening.

The Cougars (23-10) jumped out to a strong start picking up the first set, 25-22.  The Tigers (20-8) rallied and went ahead 2-1, before Kean battled back in the fourth set, picking up a tightly contested set by the final of 27-25.  Princeton then gained momentum in the fifth and final set to pick up the win.

Kean was led by junior Steve Vahalla who recorded a season-high 24 kills while adding two blocks.  Senior Christian Portera tallied 13 kills with a .391 attack percentage while teammate John Cunningham added 16 kills and a team-high 10 digs.  Rookie Alex Barnhard (pictured left) registered a career-high assists.

The Cougars return to action on Saturday when they host the Skyline Conference Tournament.  #1 Kean will square off against #4 Sage College at 1 p.m. followed by #2 Ramapo College and #3 New Jersey City University at 3:30 p.m.  The winners will meet in the championship slated for 7 p.m.