Women's volleyball finishes second at Colgate Invitational

While much of the East coast was dealing with Hurricane Ivan, women's volleyball ran into a storm of its own, as the Tigers finally dropped their first match to the Red Storm of St. John's.

Previously, Princeton (6-1 overall) had won its first six games of the early season including a first-place finish at the Morgan St. Invitational last weekend.

"We're more fired up this season and [this] has influenced our overall attitude in practice and in matches," sophomore libero Jenny McReynolds said. "We just really want to win."

Princeton won their first two games at this weekend's Colgate Invitational, 3-1 over Colgate and 3-0 over Siena, but ran out of gas against St. John's. The Tigers returned home with a second-place finish. Siena took third, while host Colgate had to accept fourth.

The tournament started in the same fashion as last weekend's — with Tiger dominance. Against Colgate, Princeton had extra incentive, as the Raiders had defeated the Tigers 3-2 in last year's championship game.

Colgate started out on top, taking the first game 30-27. Any confidence the Raiders had though, quickly evaporated as Princeton rallied in the second game, destroying them 30-17. Perhaps shocked by the beating, Colgate never recovered and was manhandled in the final two games, 30-19 and 30-17, respectively.

Junior outside hitter Lauren Grumet continued her strong play in the early season by leading the Tigers both in kills (15) and digs (29). She wasn't alone as the entire Princeton front line kept the Raiders on their heels with both powerful and accurate hitting. Senior middle blocker Alex Brown had 10 kills and only one error. She also led the team with four aces.

Senior outside hitters Ashley Weber and Lauren Loban completed the front line and were also effective. Weber contributed 15 kills and 16 digs, while Loban had 14 of each.

Setting up all of the kills was junior setter Jenny Senske, who recorded 44 assists.

On Saturday, Princeton began with an early game against Siena. The Tigers cruised to an easy 3-0 victory, winning 30-26, 30-18, and 30-22, respectively. The two victories over the Raiders and the Saints set up a much-anticipated championship duel between Princeton and Big East powerhouse St. John's.

The Red Storm had crushed Siena the previous day, and looked forward to beating the Tigers for the second consecutive year. St. John's beat Princeton 3-1 in last season's St. John's Classic.

Princeton came out on fire and for a while looked like it would avoid losing in the Colgate Invitational finals two years in a row, as the team took the first game 30-25. The Red Storm hit them right back, however, as it promptly won the next two games by 30-26 scores. Determined not to go down without a fight, the Tigers set up a fifth and final game by winning the fourth game 30-25.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

The final game was played under intense pressure and both teams went back and forth before St. John's squeaked out a 15-12 victory.

Loban had a strong game to complete another good weekend. She led the team in kills with 22. Grumet and Brown each pitched in with 16 and 11, respectively. Senske tallied 55 assists, her high for the weekend, while McReynolds added 29 digs. Junior middle blocker Brittany Wood recorded six blocks.

"It was a great game," McReynolds said. "There were amazing blocks and amazing sets. It would have been a nice win, but we did what we could and we should be proud of the way we played."

After two successful weekends, the Tigers enter the heart of their schedule by hosting Lafayette on Tuesday in Dillon Gym.

The Leopards are coming off a great weekend in which they went 3-0 to sweep the tournament that they were hosting. Not only did they not lose a match, they only lost one game the entire weekend. This seems to be a common occurrence for the Leopards, as seven of their 10 matches have been 3-0 wins or losses. They have been involved in only one match that has gone to five games — a loss to Marist.

If last year is any example, Princeton will certainly have an advantage playing at home. In 2003, the Tigers were 7-1 at home, the only loss coming to eventual Ivy League Champion, Penn. If this trend continues, the Tigers should have no problem continuing their strong play and defeating Lafayette.