Women's volleyball cruises to three wins, but falls to Division III Juniata

Anyone who has been to one of Glenn Nelson's practices is well aware that "tight sets kill people." After all, it is one of the coach's most repeated volleyball mantras. This weekend, junior setter Ana Yoerg learned that tight passes kill too, when she suffered a finger injury that led to the death of Princeton's victory streak Friday night in the second match of the ASICS Collegiate Invitational at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa.

The Tigers (9-5 overall) opened the tournament Friday afternoon with a strong three-game win over Cortland — 15-6, 15-11, 15-8. Sophomore outside Michelle Buffum and freshman outside Kellie Cramm both led the team with repeated kills at the net and multiple aces from the service line.

Princeton struggled in its second game of the evening, however, against long-time rival Juniata. The Tigers started out strong, winning the first two games 15-13 and 15-11. Then, just when victory seemed in sight, tragedy struck. With the score tied at seven in the critical third game, a misdirected pass too close to the net proved to be a disaster for Princeton. Going up to block the tight ball, Yoerg seriously jammed her finger, interfering with her ability to control her sets for the rest of the game. Juniata — ranked fourth in NCAA Division III — capitalized on the injury, and took off on an eight-point run to claim the third game by a score of 15-7. During the next two games, freshman backup setter Marissa Becker replaced the injured Yoerg, but the change in momentum was too much for Princeton.

"Marissa played really well," Yoerg said of the freshman. "She stepped in and did a good job filling my size-11 men's shoes."

Costly mistakes

Repeated service, defensive and hitting errors — combined with a general lack of chemistry on the court — prevented the Tigers from regaining momentum, however.

Senior co-captain Sabrina King — known for her control and consistency in the face of adversity — led from the outside with numerous kills and digs, but her strong efforts were not enough to carry the team, as Princeton fell in five games — 15-13, 15-11, 7-15, 4-15, 8-15.

Saturday, the Tigers returned to play looking reenergized. With Becker setting, the team came together to claim two decisive victories over weaker opponents — Franklin and Marshall and Charleston by the scores of 15-2, 15-9, 15-5 and 15-4, 15-1, 15-6, respectively.

"[Saturday] we really put the offense together," Skinner said. "We blocked like crazy and that gave us an immediate advantage."

Senior co-captain Emily Brown and sophomore Abby Studer dominated the middle while King and Buffum contributed with key kills from the outside.

Defensively, the Tigers controlled the court, and junior backrow specialist Martha Moore and freshman Kerry Song did not let the ball hit the floor.

Finishing 3-1 overall for the tournament, Princeton earned second place out of nine teams in the ASICS Invitational. King and Brown received First-Team All-Tournament honors.

With the Tigers' three wins and one loss on the weekend the team upped its record to 9-5 on the season and are gearing up for Wednesday's game against Manhattan, followed by their first Ivy League competition next weekend at Harvard and Dartmouth.