W. volleyball beats Brown, Cornell, but falls to Yale

The women's volleyball team had its most important victory of the season on the first Friday of Fall Break and followed that performance up a week later with a convincing win against Brown.

But in between these two impressive wins the Tigers (13-6 overall, 6-2 Ivy League) faced Yale, this time with a result less positive than their other two. The Elis defeated Princeton, 3-1, snapping the Tigers' six game winning streak and handing Princeton its second league loss of the season. Despite the results, however, the Tigers are still very much in the hunt for an Ivy League title.

"The loss surely hurts our chances for a title, but we're still in it," assistant coach Sabrina King said.

Perhaps more significant than the loss to Yale was the impressive victory on Friday, Oct. 24, over then-league-leading Cornell at Dillon Gym. The Big Red, who came in with a 6-0 Ivy League record, had their 14-game winning streak ended by the Tigers, who managed to extend their own streak to six games.

Princeton took the first two games by scores of 33-31 and 30-28. After dropping the third game, the Tigers came back to pick up the fourth by a score of 30-23 for a 3-1 victory.

Princeton was led by sophomore outside hitter Lauren Grumet, who recorded 19 kills, and senior outside hitter Kellie Cramm, who had 17. The offense was further aided by sophomore setter Jenny Senske, who contributed 59 assists.

Including Grumet and Cramm, the Tigers had four girls record double-digit kills, providing a balanced offensive attack that was supported by an equally well-balanced defense.

The defense, which was able to contain a powerful Cornell frontline, was led once again by freshman outside hitter Jenny McReynolds, who had 19 digs. Her efforts were aided by three other teammates who added more than 10 digs apiece.

"We played really well. The passing, the blocking — everything was working," McReynolds said. "It was one of those games that's a lot of fun to play."

The Tigers looked to carry the momentum into the next night's game against Columbia, but it was not to be. After a full warmup, Princeton and Columbia waited for two of the four referees to show up. They never did arrive, and the game was postponed and has been rescheduled for Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. in Dillon Gym.

On Halloween night, Princeton traveled to New Haven, Conn., to play rival Yale, which looked to exact revenge following the Tigers' defeat of the Bulldogs in early October.

Yale got just that as it defeated the Tigers, 3-1, a heartbreaking loss that ended Princeton's winning streak. The loss marked the first time that Princeton had been beaten by Yale since 1997. The defeat put the Tigers a full two games back of league-leading Penn, which remains undefeated.

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"We just played poorly, and we were perhaps a little overconfident after beating them the first time," King said.

The Bulldogs (12-6, 4-4) managed to contain Princeton's offense in a way the Tigers had not seen in quite some time. Mixing a strong power game with a solid defense, Yale, after a split in the first two sets, stole the last two by scores of 30-23 and 30-21 for the 3-1 victory.

Defensively, Princeton had a difficult time stopping the Bulldog's junior outside hitter Jana Freeman, who recorded a game-high 25 kills in the match.

Cramm led the Tigers in the losing effort with 18 kills in the match while McReynolds led the defense with a game-high 28 digs.

"We maybe psyched ourselves out a little," McReynolds said.

After the frustrating Yale game, Princeton took out some of its anger on Brown (3-14, 2-7) this past Saturday. The Tigers came back strong on the road, taking the match in four games.

"We had a lot more hustle against Brown and a lot more intensity," King said.

With six matches left, the Tigers are still two games back of league-leading Penn, which Princeton plays Nov. 19. As for now, the Ivy League title is not a big concern for the team.