Women's volleyball attempts to creep back into Ivy battle

While most Princeton students will be travelling their separate ways next week for fall break, the women's volleyball team will be attempting to reclaim its Ivy footing against Dartmouth and Harvard.

After being upset in three consecutive games against Penn, Cornell and Columbia early in the season, the Tigers redeemed themselves this past weekend with triumphs over Brown and Yale.

The Tigers are teetering on the edge of falling out of contention with a 2-3 league record.

Princeton is not used to this sort of losing. In fact, it had not lost three consecutive Ivy games since the 1992 season when the Tigers went 4-3 in the league. Last year, they placed first in the Ivies with a 6-1 record and went on to capture their fifth championship title in seven years.

That is why this weekend's matches against the final two Ivy teams, Dartmouth and Harvard, are so critical.

Two more wins on the scoreboard will swing Princeton over the .500 mark. It will be able to tackle rematches against Columbia and Cornell, scheduled for Nov. 2 and 3, respectively, with a winning record.

After convincing victories over Brown and Yale this past weekend, the Tigers know it can be done.

"There is no one we should lose to if we play as we did this past weekend. If we take care of what needs to be done on our side of the net, we should have no problem," sophomore power-hitter Kellie Cramm, who has suffered from recurring ankle injuries throughout the season, said.

It's a promising sign that both the Crimson and the Big Green have paltry 2-4 records so far. And the fact that both lost in five games to Brown, whom Princeton crushed 3-1 last weekend, is even more encouraging.

But the Tigers cannot approach this weekend lightly either.

"Every game is as important as the rest," Cramm said.

Last year, the Tigers had success against Harvard, but dropped a five-set match to Dartmouth early in the season.

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Unfortunately, dropping fouror five-set matches has been a haunting theme this year as well. Often, the Tigers are able to take the first game in a blaze of aggression, only to slow to a standstill later in the match.

This was the case in their first game against Cornell, in which they seized game one, 30-21, but lost both of the next two by two points.

Then, despite harnessing enough steam for a win in game four, they were unable to make it last through the fifth and deciding game.

The Columbia match was no different. The Tigers peaked in the first game, 30-19, but dovetailed in three straight losses after that.

There is no doubt that Cramm's repeated ankle injuries contributed to these upsets.

"We were just in a slump," she said, "but we should be able to beat [Columbia and Cornell] the second time around."

Understandably, it has been difficult for the Tigers to adjust to the sporadic shifting of lineups that Cramm's absence has caused.

But now, with three losses already looming over their heads, the Tigers cannot afford to be much less than perfect in the next couple of weeks.

Nevertheless, the Tigers have not lost confidence, and winning the Ivy title is still a realistic goal.

"With a little luck, consistent play, and a continuation of our winning streak, we might be able to pull off a league championship once again," Cramm said.