Relatively speaking, Princeton women's volleyball fared pretty well at the St. John's Classic this past weekend.
Relatively speaking, because a 1-2 record does not reveal the Tigers' disadvantages.
Princeton saw non-Ivy League action in Jamaica, N.Y., against Wagner, Long Island University and St. John's to open its season. Even before play began, the team had a couple of factors working against it.
Among the Tigers' challenges were lack of court time and illness. This weekend's St. John's Classic sounded the starting gun on Princeton's season, while the Tigers' competitors had all seen between three and eight matches' worth of play.
To add to that discrepancy, Princeton's star outside hitter, senior captain Kellie Cramm, could not play — she is currently recovering from mononucleosis. As the most experienced collegiate player on the team, her absence left a huge hole in the team's attack and defense.
The team's setbacks did not cost the Tigers everything, however. Princeton found ways to fill in for Cramm and pull together at many points during the tournament. Leading into the tournament, the Tigers' goal was to work out some kinks in their game. They seized the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
"There is definitely some fine-tuning that needs to happen, so with these tournaments we will mix things up and see what works best," assistant coach Sabrina King '01 said.
The Tigers eased into the weekend — and their 2003 season — Friday night against the Seahawks (0-6). Not known for being a volleyball powerhouse, Wagner dropped the first two games quickly. Princeton held off the Seahawks again in the third and closest game for the 30-22, 30-17, 30-26 sweep.
Saturday proved much more challenging for the young Tiger team. The new day brought matches against strong Blackbird and Red Storm squads.
The LIU match was less than pretty on Princeton's side of the net. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Grumet's 11 kills and 12 digs and sophomore setter Jenny Senske's 33 assists were not enough against the consistent offense of the Blackbirds (6-2). Outhit by their opponents, the Tigers fell in three straight games, 30-23, 30-24, 30-19.
Perhaps the highlight of the Tigers' opening weekend was their performance against St. John's, the top team at the tournament.
Tied at 29 with the Red Storm in the first game, Princeton pushed hard for the next two points to take the game, 31-29.
Over the next three games, however, the Tigers could not muscle their way past a tough St. John's defense. Princeton kept the games close but fell short of victory each time. The final score of 29-31, 30-25, 30-24, 30-27 secured the Red Storm's overall tournament victory. Junior Lauren Loban and Grumet each put up 17 kills in the match, while Senske tallied a solid 50 assists.
The weekend provided an opportunity for new talent to shine. Freshman libero Jenny McReynolds, who chalked up 22 digs for the Tigers in their final match, had quite a debut in the orange and black — she was the only Princeton player selected for the All-Tournament Team.
"Jenny [McReynolds] was all over the place," Grumet said of her younger teammate. "She showed no signs of being a [rookie]."
McReynolds was not the only one to come away with a sense of satisfaction. Overall, the team was pleased with its performance.
"I think it was a good starting point," Grumet said. "Now we know our strengths and weaknesses, and we'll build from there."
So with the St. John's Classic out of the way, it seems like Princeton has a good foundation to build on during the next two weekends' tournaments.
"This team has a lot of heart and really good chemistry on and off the court," King said.
The Tigers will take that chemistry on the road again next weekend for the Colgate Invitational in Hamilton, N.Y. According to King, each of the three tournaments opening Princeton's season allows the team to "get good experience under their belts."
Cramm will begin practicing again this week. The team hopes to have her back in action at this weekend's tournament.
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