W. volleyball edges Penn, Juniata

For most players on the women's volleyball team, mentioning Penn brings back a stream of bad memories.

It was Penn that defeated Princeton in the Ivy League opener three years in a row. It was Penn that ended the Tigers' quest for back-to-back-to-back Ivy League championships in 2001. And most recently, it was Penn that spoiled Princeton's title hopes last season in the team's final game at The Palestra.

Needless to say, when the two rivals meet up, intensity is never lacking. Nor is the animosity between the two.

Junior setter Jenny Senske put it mildly, saying "[Compared to other games], there is a certain fire that is present before Penn matches."

With all of the history between the two teams in their minds, Princeton traveled to The Palestra for a season-opening showdown with the Quakers last weekend. And for the first time in a while, the Tigers walked away with a smile on their faces.

The Tigers handed Penn a 3-1 loss on Friday night before returning home to beat Juniata by a score of 3-2 on Saturday.

The Penn matchup was by no means a cake walk. It was the Quakers who set the tone early on as they led the Tigers, 26-22, in each of the first two games. But Princeton had its comeback boots on and pulled out the win in each.

In the first game, from the time the score was 26-22, the Tigers went on a 4-0 run to bring the score even. The two teams traded points points back and forth until Penn held a slim 29-28 edge. Senior outside hitter Ashley Weber then made a huge save for Princeton, converting what would have been the winning shot for the Quakers into a Tiger point. From there, senior outside hitter Lauren Grumet put the game away with two kills, enough for a 32-30 victory.

The following game was similar to the first and was a nailbiter all the way to the end. Again, Penn had a chance to put the game away, but the Tigers resisted, saving three game balls and then coming back with help from senior outside hitter Lauren Loban's three consecutive kills. Princeton took the game, 33-31, and put the match at 2-0 in its favor.

Penn finally got a win in the third game, another thriller that ended with a 31-29 score and made a fourth game necessary.

The Quakers were desperate to push the match to five games, but Princeton would have none of it. After getting off to a solid start, the Tigers resisted a few late Penn charges to take the fourth and final game, 30-25.

The victory was a good tone-setter and confidence builder for a team that had lost its last six matches against its conference rival.

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"[Especially] as a senior," Weber said, "it was an incredible feeling to be able to walk away from The Palestra for the last time with a big win."

Not only was the win satisfying because of the opponent, it was also a solid way to open up conference play. After a second-place finish last year, the Tigers are looking to regain their title this season. Even with the win, that task should prove trying.

"The level of league play overall has risen a great deal this year, so we have the mindset that this is going to be a tough season," Weber said. "This will require a lot of intensity and determination not only in games but on a day-today basis as well."

But Princeton had to recover from the intensely emotional match to battle non-conference foe Juanita the next day. Perhaps for that reason, Tigers struggled against the Eagles, as they lost the first two games by identical 30-26 scores.

But Princeton found its groove after that and won the next three to take the match, 3-2. The third and fourth games both ended at 30-26, and the fifth and final game fell 16-14 in Princeton's favor.

The successful weekend showed a lot about the team and its hopes for the season.

"This weekend conveyed an emotion derived not only from sheer talent, but passion and perseverance," Senske said. "This season is about the melding of experience and passion, and I think this will move us toward an ending anxiously awaited by all."