Women's volleyball weighs in against Ivy League opponents

After veering off course to start the season, the women's volleyball team has righted the ship with four straight 3-0 non-conference wins.

With the season opener against defending-champion Penn looming October 4, here is a capsule look at the competition in the Ancient Eight.

Princeton Tigers

Last year: 15-9 overall, 9-5 conference; tied for third place in Ivy League Head coach: Glenn Nelson, 21st year Key players: Kellie Cramm (jr., outside hitter), Michelle Buffum (sr., OH), Kerry Song (jr., setter) Outlook: Princeton, the league champions in 2000, are counting on the experience of Cramm, Buffum, Song, and senior middle blocker Abby Studer to lead them back to the top of the league. Freshman Jenny Senske is establishing herself as a reliable setter, averaging over 13 assists per game.

Brown Bears

Last year: 16-11, 11-3; tied for first place Head coach: Diane Short, 10th year Key players: Jessie Cooper (sr., MB), Aneal Helms (sr., MB) Outlook: Cooper, Ceneca Calvert, Helms, and Angela Dunn make up a quartet of senior experience that should lead the Bears back into contention for the league title. Junior Leslie Miller and sophomore Courtney Hull will fill in for graduated Corre Myer, Brown's all-time assist leader, at setter. Brown led the conference in assists (1,380) and kills (1,502) a year ago.

Columbia Lions

Last year: 14-9, 8-6; fifth place Head coach: Carolyn Elwood, seventh year Key players: Kathy Levold (sr., middle hitter), Madia Willis (jr., OH) Outlook: Columbia had its best year ever last season and looks prime to repeat that success. All of the Lions' players return again this year and Elwood calls this her best freshman recruiting class. Lavold and Willis led the team in kills per game last season, and freshman Ashley Davidson will need to fill the void left from transferee Julia Topik's 11.48 assists per game a year ago.

Cornell Big Red

Last year: 17-9, 9-5; tied for third place Head coach: Christie Jackson, fourth year Key players: Debbie Quibell (jr., OH); Angela Barbera (sr., OH) Outlook: Jackson also believes this is her best recruiting class, and perhaps the key to Cornell's success will lie in their ability to mesh the new talent with the old. Quibell and Barbera are an all-Ivy caliber duo of outside hitters, and juniors Jamie Lugo and Ashley Stover ranked in the top 10 in the conference in blocks last year.

Dartmouth Big Green

Last year: 7-17, 2-12; eighth place Head coach: Ann Marie Larese, eighth year Key players: Andrea Sea (sr., MB), Courtney Anderson (sr., S) Outlook: It can't get too much worse for Dartmouth, which lost its last nine conference games last season. Eleven players return to provide support for Sea's team-leading numbers in kills (226), digs (187), and blocks (80) from a year ago.

Harvard Crimson

Last year: 10-14, 3-11; tied for sixth place Head coach: Jennifer Weiss, 10th year Key players: Mindy Jellin (sr., S), Kaego Ogbechie (so., OH) Outlook: Weiss has just one senior on her roster, and will need All-Ivy Jellin and Ivy League Rookie of the Year Ogbechie to bring their game up a notch to compete for a title.

Penn Quakers

Last year: 18-7, 11-3; Ivy League champions Head coach: Kerry Major Carr, 5th year Key players: Stacey Carter (sr., OH), Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan (jr., OH) Outlook: Carter, who led the league in hitting percentage, and Kwak-Hefferan, who was third in the league in both kills and digs, will anchor a team that needs production from its younger players to return to the league's elite.

Yale Bulldogs

Last year: 10-14, 3-11; tied for sixth Head coach: Peg Scofield, 16th year Key players: Betty Picinic (sr., S) Outlook: Injuries plagued the Bulldogs' 2001 campaign, and Scofield is confident that her four senior leaders — Picinic, Dana Loberg, Joey Lee, and Lindsay Stimpson — will return her squad to the top of the Ivy standings.