Princeton women's volleyball is now officially the best team in Ivy Tournament history. After winning the championship match in last weekend's Ivy Tournament in Cambridge, Mass., the Tigers — who have claimed 12 titles in the tournamen's 24-year history, including five championships in the past seven years — are going down in the books as the most victorious team to date.
Going into the tournament with the No. 1 seed, Princeton played the first round Friday afternoon against Columbia. Though the Tigers played a little hesitantly at first, they pulled out the win in three games — 15-12, 15-12, 15-11. Princeton overpowered the Lions at the net behind senior captain and outside hitter Sabrina King's controlled hitting and outplayed them defensively thanks to steady digging from defensive specialists, sophomore Anne Ziegler and freshman Kerry Song.
Recharged
After Friday's victory, the Tigers returned Saturday morning with renewed energy as they played in the semifinal match against familiar-rival Yale. Princeton has eliminated the Elis from the tournament in each of the past three years, and this year the Tigers did it again. From the start, Princeton dominated the court and wasted no time sending Yale home in three games — 15-5, 15-9, 15-6.
"We played probably the best game of our season against Yale," senior captain Emily Brown said. "We just did everything right — serving, passing, blocking, hitting. We finally played the way we knew we could all season long."
Leading the way for the Tigers were junior setter Ana Yoerg and freshman outside hitter Kellie Cramm, who registered a match-high 20 kills and 10 digs.
"Ana had the game of her life [against Yale]," Brown said. "She was setting really smart, mixing it up between the outsides and the middles, and every once in a while killing it herself. Kellie was on fire too and was hitting out of her mind."
Saturday morning's victory secured Princeton a place in that evening's tournament final against Cornell. Having played exceptionally well in the semifinals, Princeton started out overconfident and received an unpleasant wakeup call from a tough Cornell team, which won the first game, 15-6. Proving that both teams meant business, the Tigers and the Big Red battled it out during the next four games behind solid offensive and defensive efforts. In the end, Princeton reigned victorious, claiming the match 6-15, 15-5, 7-15, 15-9, 15-11.
At the net, the Tiger outside hitters threw off Cornell's defense by mixing up their shots between aggressive hitting and smart tipping. King, Cramm and sophomore Michelle Buffum led the attack, recording 11, 15 and 12 kills, respectively. Middle hitters Brown and sophomore Abby Studer contributed with tough blocking and hitting as well, while Yoerg registered 54 assists in the match.
"Cornell played a great match and really made us fight for it every step of the way," Brown said. "We served tough and kept the pressure on them by digging and blocking well."
The five-game victory clinched the tournament crown for Princeton, and two of the Tigers — Yoerg and Cramm — were named to the all-tournament team.
"Ana played outstanding against Yale, and blocked and served and dumped really well against Cornell," King said. "She's really come a long way this season, and I'm really happy that she got some recognition.
'Team effort'
"And Kellie absolutely rocked. She should have been MVP. All in all, it was really a total team effort this weekend — we showed that we have a lot of heart."
"It was a really fun weekend all around," Brown said. "All the teams played great, and it was a tight contest from the start. I'm really proud of our team. We stepped up to prove that we were the best team there."
As the Ivy League champions, the Tigers receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament — the first round of which will be played the first weekend in December at a site yet to be determined.
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