Women's volleyball keeps Ivy League title hopes alive with weekend wins

With five matches in nine days, the volleyball team did not have much of a fall break.

The Tigers faced Dartmouth, Harvard, Villanova, Columbia, and Cornell this past week in a test of their endurance.

Despite tough losses to Har-vard and Villa-nova, Princeton (13-5 overall, 6-3 Ivy League) steadily improved its play over the course of the week. The tight schedule provided the team with a chance to prove itself, and the Tigers began to shine by the end of the week.

Fall break began on a positive note as the Tigers dominated Dartmouth (5-17, 1-9) for a 3-1 victory on Oct. 25. Princeton's offense came together under the leadership of freshman setter Jenny Senske, who had 60 assists in the match. Four Tigers contributed at least 12 kills in the win.

Princeton was not as successful the next day against Harvard (13-8, 9-1). The Tigers were unable to shut down a strong Crimson offense led by a couple of big hitters.

"Things just were not clicking for us," junior outside hitter Kellie Cramm said.

Although the second game went into extra points, Harvard retained control of the match. Princeton fell in three games, 30-18, 34-32, 30-23.

On Wednesday, Oct. 30, the Tigers suffered another difficult loss, this time to Villanova (14-15). Princeton fought hard to win the first two games, 30-22 and 32-30, but the Wildcats battled back to tie the match at two games apiece. In the fifth and final game, the teams again went into extra points. Villanova came out on top, securing the match by a score of 19-17.

A solid 3-1 victory over Columbia (8-15, 1-9) assured Princeton that it was still a major competitor in the fight for the Ivy title.

After falling behind 2-1 in the first three games, the Lions needed only a side-out to tie the match at two games. The Tigers, however, were determined to come back, and their determination paid off: behind 23-29, Princeton won eight straight points, clinching the match with final scores of 30-21, 24-30, 30-25, and 31-29.

Senior outside hitter Michelle Buffum led the team with 17 kills, and junior setter Kerry Song racked up 24 digs in the match.

"We left that match feeling like we truly earned the win and finally played up to our potential," senior middle blocker Abby Studer said.

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The Tigers closed out the break with a home win over Cornell (13-9, 5-5). The Big Red took Princeton to five games, but captains Buffum and Studer again led the Tigers to victory with 17 kills each. Princeton fought back after dropping the second and third games to Cornell, finishing the game strong.

When all was said and done, Princeton volleyball emerged from fall break 3-1 in league play. "Overall, I think this week was a step in the right direction," Senske said.

Song agreed, but she pointed out how important the team's next matches will be.

"Right now, it's anyone's game," she said. "Every game is crucial."

Since the championship is determined by a team's regular season record, the Tigers will need to come out strong in their five remaining league matches.

Especially crucial will be this Friday's match against Harvard. In order to have a chance at the Ivy League title, Princeton must beat the Crimson, who have only one league loss this season.

"Harvard is tough competition, but for our team, nothing is out of reach yet," Senske said.

The Tigers, who lost the battle for the Ivy League championship to Brown last year, are hungry for the title this year.

"We want the title," said Song. "We focus on one game at a time, but behind it all, we know what our main goal is."

The team will travel this weekend to Harvard and Dartmouth for two important League games away from home. The Tigers will return to Dillon Gym the next weekend for three more critical matches against Yale, Brown, and Pennsylvania.

"Hopefully, we will take the intensity from the last two matches and carry it along to Harvard and Dartmouth," Senske said.