After a loss to defending conference champion Penn on Oct. 4, the women's volleyball team needed to prove that it is still a major presence in the Ivy League.
A pair of road wins against Cornell and Columbia this weekend confirmed that the team is as strong as ever.
On Friday, the Tigers (9-2 overall, 2-1 Ivy League) rose to the occasion to defeat a solid Cornell team.
Senior outside hitter Michelle Buffum claimed that it was the team's "confident, no-nonsense attitude out on the court" that carried the team past the Big Red.
Junior outside hitter Kellie Cramm agreed. "We really came together as a team against Cornell," she said. "Our intensity that match felt better than it ever has."
Although Cornell played a competitive match, Princeton fought harder for a 3-1 victory (30-22, 30-26, 25-30, 30-16).
Cornell (10-5, 3-1) rebounded the day following the loss to Princeton to beat the Quakers.
The Tigers also played a strong match against Columbia (7-10, 0-4), overcoming a slow start to win, 3-1 (26-30, 30-28, 30-26, 30-23).
Though at first the Lions' big hitters, especially outside hitter Kathy Lavold, seemed to dominate, the Tigers were soon able to shut them down and turn the match around.
Princeton took advantage of Columbia's 16 total service errors to keep momentum in the match and finish the weekend 2-0.
The Tigers had a number of outstanding individual contributions to the team's overall solid performance on the weekend.
Ultimately, this weekend was a "solid showing for Princeton volleyball," according to Buffum.
Statistically, Buffum led the Tiger offense in kills for both matches, with 18 against Cornell and 19 against Columbia.
Senior middle blocker Abby Studer and Cramm, a consistent offensive leader, also found themselves in double digits in kills. Studer racked up 12 against both Cornell and Columbia while Cramm picked 11 against the Big Red and 13 against the Lions.
Two freshmen stepped up this weekend. Outside hitter Lauren Grumet had an excellent match against Columbia, displaying her powerful spike and earning 14 kills while also showing off her defense with 16 digs. Setter Jenny Senske continued to set the table for her squad, racking up 49 assists each night.
The team is already looking ahead to next weekend's matches against Brown on Friday and Yale on Saturday.
The Tigers are optimistic about their chances against both the Bears and the Bulldogs.
Cramm asserts that as long as "we clean up our serve receive and our defense a little... we are capable of beating" these next two Ivy League teams.
Coming off this past weekend, the Tigers have reestablished a sense of dominance and certainly seem up to the challenge of further Ivy competition. Princeton has won nine of its last 10 matches since dropping the opening match of the season to St. John's. In that stretch, the Tigers are 28-8 in 36 games played within those matches.
Princeton takes its show in the road again this weekend to Providence and New Haven before returning to the friendly confines of Dillon Gym for matches against Harvard and Dartmouth the following weekend. In the final match of the season, the Tigers take on Penn in what could be the deciding factor for the Ivy League crown. Princeton plays seven of its final nine conference matches at home.
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