W. volleyball tops Harvard, Dartmouth, preps for Penn

Four wins for an Ivy League title. That's easy. Four wins in four games for an Ivy League title. That's pressure.

This is what the women's volleyball team was up against entering the final stretch of its season. So far, the Tigers are three for three after taking down Harvard, 3-1, on Friday, Dartmouth, 3-0, on Saturday, and learning that Columbia will forfeit its Monday game. Now all that's left is the season finale against league-leading Penn on Wednesday.

The first victory for the Tigers this weekend was against a fired up Harvard team that, although out of the title hunt, was all too content to play the role of spoiler against its Ivy League rival.

After the first game, it looked like that was a very real possibility as Princeton played sloppily and went down by a score of 30-27. Errors, both mental and physical, plagued the Tigers throughout the first game, causing the loss and giving the Crimson a great deal of confidence going into the second.

Princeton, however, came out much more relaxed and got it together to take the second game. Sophomore middle blocker Brittany Wood came up with a huge solo block at a 28-28 tie to put the Tigers up by one. Princeton killed the next serve, winning the game, 30-28.

This provided a shift of momentum in the Tigers' favor that helped them take the next two games as well. After dominating the third game, 30-19, they finished off the Crimson in the fourth by a score of 30-27 to take the match, 3-1. The win was the second of the season against a solid Harvard team that has been on top of the Ivy League in the past few years.

The Tigers were led by sophomore outside hitter Lauren Grumet's 16 kills. Senior outside hitter Kellie Cramm and junior middle blocker Alex Brown contributed 14 apiece. Sophomore setter Jenny Senske did her part by adding 51 assists. In support of the offense, the defense was successful at containing the hard-hitting Crimson. Princeton recorded 13 blocks as a team to Harvard's six. Freshman libero Jenny McReynolds led the defensive effort with 22 digs.

The game was one to forget for McReynolds. Literally.

When diving for a ball midway through the second game, she slammed into a teammate's shoulder and suffered a concussion as a result. Despite being unable to focus, she stayed in the game.

"I have only a few memories of certain plays during the rest of the match," McReynolds said. "My eyesight kept blacking out — it made it hard to focus."

McReynolds was forced to sit out Saturday and is questionable for Wednesday's match against Penn.

Dartmouth came into Dillon Gym on Saturday having dropped three of its last four matches. The Tigers, which beat the Big Green, 3-1, in a match earlier in the season, recorded their second victory of the weekend, easily sweeping the match in three games.

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Princeton started the match off right by dominating the first game, winning 30-18. Dartmouth was shaken as it committed numerous errors that only made it easier for the Tigers to roll to victory. Princeton recorded 21 kills in the first game alone on only 38 attempts — an efficient start to an impressive win.

The second game looked similar as the Tigers kept up the momentum and took the game by a score of 30-22. Princeton perhaps came out a little complacent in the third game as Dartmouth surprised them early and eventually worked its way to a 14-9 lead. The Tigers eventually got it together and came back to take the game 30-27 and the match, 3-0.

On the game, Kellie Cramm showed some senior leadership as she, along with Brown, led Princeton with 14 kills apiece. Senske added 38 assists as well as 10 digs to help fill the void left by McReynolds' absence. Wood led the Tigers with three blocks.

The dominating win was the first sweep for Princeton since Oct. 8 and provides for a good feeling going into the last game of the season.

"The Dartmouth match definitely raised our confidence, just in time for the biggest match of the year coming up this week," Grumet said.

Three for three. One to go.