By Lincoln Shryack

Princeton sophomore George Huhmann has quickly developed into the preeminent all-around player in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association—and he’s done so this season while taking on an entirely new position.

Huhmann has followed up his outstanding rookie campaign—in which we won EIVA Newcomer of the Year as a middle blocker—with an even more spectacular sequel at opposite hitter. 

Entering Thursday’s EIVA Tournament in Fairfax, Virginia, the super sophomore leads the league in points per set and kills per set and is fourth in blocks per set, while ranking top-20 nationally in each of those categories. The position switch has seemingly gone off without a hitch, and it’s a huge reason why the Tigers were able to shake off a miserable 1-11 start and get back to the postseason.

It was that early-season adversity, spurred on by injuries to his teammates, that helped push Huhmann to his new spot on the court. There, he has used his Swiss army knife skill set to dominate like never before and help keep Princeton’s season alive.

Congrats to George Huhmann, who won his third @EIVAVolleyball Offensive Player of the Week honor after a brilliant performance these last two matches. https://t.co/iCc6ZaxnX3

— PrincetonVolley (@PrincetonVolley) April 16, 2018

“Coach Shweisky saw that I was pretty good at hitting D balls and he was like, ‘Oh, why don’t we try him out as a hybrid middle and opposite in the back row.’ So I was kind of a hybrid middle opposite for awhile there, and then with the injuries and stuff I just went full opposite,” Huhmann said. 

The 6-foot-11 Huhmann has terrorized competition at an all-American level of play in the new role, with his drastically improved statistics showing how crucial the position switch has been for Princeton. Since the beginning of March, the second-year player has won three EIVA Offensive Player of the Week honors to go along with a Defensive Player of the Week award. Not coincidentally, Princeton caught fire during that span and finished the season 10-4 after starting out so poorly. 

Now Princeton will pose a significant test to top-seeded George Mason on their home court on Thursday. The Tigers lost both matches against the Patriots earlier this season, but improvements in the second contest suggest a good battle could be in store between the two teams.

Of course, Huhmann is quick to heap praise on his teammates for his success at opposite this season, and for good reason. Freshman setter Joe Kelly is third in the conference in assists while senior middle Junior Oboh leads the league in blocks per set; as a team, Princeton is tops in the EIVA in blocks and it’s not particularly close. No other squad is within 50 of the Tigers’ block total. 

Good defense and excellent passing lead to more offensive opportunities, and according to Huhmann, he’s been a beneficiary of his teammates’ solid work in those departments.

“A lot of my stats can also be attributed to my teammates," he said. "It all starts with passing. The passers have put in countless hours of work in the gym, and Joe’s gotten tons and tons of setting reps. I definitely wouldn’t be able to put up the numbers that I’ve had this season without them."

George Huhmann ace, and Princeton leads 22-21 in the 4th! pic.twitter.com/GXC8exf11b

— PrincetonVolley (@PrincetonVolley) February 12, 2017

Even so, Huhmann’s gaudy numbers this season on offense and defense suggest that he is the engine that makes Princeton go. Of the team’s EIVA-leading 265 blocks, Huhmann has recorded 105, all while notching 372 kills. Both totals led the conference; no other player was in the top-10 in both blocks and kills.

It’s the kill total that has dramatically swelled this season with the move to opposite— he’s nearly doubled his output from last season, from 189 to 372. Huhmann says that he’s developed a diverse shot repertoire to help with the extra demands of the position.

“As a middle last season, it was very just straightforward," Huhmann said. "I would just try to hit across body as hard as I could really. But this season as an opposite I’ve had to be more crafty and make better shots on the court from deep, something I didn’t really do as a middle last season.

“Hitting the ball deep, going down the line, just overall making better shots on my serves is some things I’ve improved.”

Technique work with head coach Sam Shweisky and assistant Pat Shawaryn has proved invaluable in diversifying his offensive arsenal in order to maximize his physical talents. At 6-11, Huhmann has always mounted steep attacks on defenders at the net, but this season he’s added an effective deep ball with the help of his huge wingspan. 

“Since I’m taller, I can touch higher and when I get up there I can contact at a higher point, which is better for attacking. I have more range on my swings,” he said.

Congrats to George Huhmann on making the travel roster and heading to the Czech Republic! #hpstl #JNT https://t.co/2I6AqmQCIo

— HPSTLVBC (@HPSTLVBC) June 21, 2017

Never have Huhmann’s incredible skills proved more timely than in last Friday’s match on the road at Penn State. Needing a win over the weekend against either Penn State or St. Francis to secure their playoff spot, Princeton leaned on Huhmann in a big way in State College, Pennsylvania. 

There they beat the Nittany Lions on the road for the first time in school history.

The sophomore recorded a team-high 19 kills against Penn State to go along with three blocks and three digs in the Tigers’ emphatic 3-0 defeat of their conference nemesis. The win ended Princeton’s 32-match drought on Penn State’s court, and for Huhmann it signaled that the team was fully ready for this weekend’s tournament.

“By beating Penn State in three at their place, something we had never done before, it proves that this team is special," he said. "It proves that we have what it takes to be the EIVA champion.

“Just having that confidence that this team has done something that no other [Princeton] team has done, it’s really going to be good for us going into the tournament."

It’s with that confidence that Princeton will match up with George Mason, a team that went 13-1 in conference play and beat the Tigers twice in the regular season. Mason won 3-0 when the two teams squared off in mid-February, with Huhmann recording just five kills. But the story was much different on March 31. Huhmann had 17 kills in that one as Princeton pushed Mason to five sets.

“George Mason is a very good offensive team," Huhmann acknowledged. "Their hitters have all been having a great season. So I think that having a good blocking system in place and knowing what each hitter’s tendencies are is going to be really important going into the match."

As the season has progressed, Huhmann has grown more comfortable at opposite hitter and his team has excelled because of it. Now with the biggest moment of the 2018 season upon them, Princeton enters George Mason’s gym with as good of a shot as ever of shocking the mighty Patriots on their home floor. 

Huhmann, after leading his squad to school history just last week, is confident that his team has what it takes to score an upset on Thursday. 

“The lineup we have going into the match, we have all the talent we need to beat George Mason. If we come out and we’re on top of our game, we’re serving well, passing well, it’s really going to be a great match.”