W. volleyball sweeps home weekend

Finally, home sweet home.

The women's volleyball team played its first conference games in Dillon Gym this weekend, after opening its Ivy League schedule with three straight matches on the road. The home-court advantage proved valuable as the Tigers swept the weekend, defeating Dartmouth, 3-0, on Friday and Harvard, 3-2, on Saturday.

The wins kept Princeton perfect at home so far this season and in a first-place tie in the loss column in the league. Many feel that the Tigers should be alone on top, as last weekend they dropped a very winnable game against a weaker Brown team. The loss last weekend made this weekend that much more important.

"The match against Brown really changed our attitude," sophomore libero Jenny McReynolds said. "It made us realize that every match could go either way."

The Harvard match provided the most excitement of the weekend. The Crimson came into the match undefeated in the conference, a perfect 4-0. Two of the wins came against very solid Penn and Cornell teams, demonstrating the talent that Harvard possesses.

The Tigers were intent on showing the Crimson early on that they were not going to be dominated at home. The first two games went easily to Princeton, 30-25 and 30-19, respectively.

The quick start was a pleasant surprise for head coach Glenn Nelson, who usually watches his team struggle to get things rolling in the first few games. This always makes things interesting in the end, and while Princeton usually walks away victorious, the Tigers know that sooner or later it would come back to haunt them. Thus, much effort was made to prevent a slow start against the Crimson.

Ultimately, the Tigers' quick start saved them in this match. After winning the first two easily, Harvard took the next two 30-26 and 30-25 to force a fifth and final game.

The fifth game was unusually anticlimactic — in a good way. The Tigers jumped out to a early 7-1 lead. The Crimson couldn't dig themselves out of the hole, as the Tigers held on to the advantage, ending the match with a 15-8 fifth game victory.

Ironically, although the final match score was tight, none of the individuals games were, as both squads turned in up-and-down performances. But for the Tigers, their wins in games one, two and five were excellent examples of the style of play that they've been working towards.

"The [games] had a smoothness that we have been working to achieve all season," junior setter Jenny Senske said. "Every single person worked incredibly hard to contribute and play her part as best she could."

More telling is the fact that the team was able to achieve this goal against one of the better teams in the league.

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"We were pretty fired up to play Harvard, especially because they were undefeated in [the] league," junior outside hitter Lauren Grumet said. "We heard from other teams that they were a very solid team and their record was not just a fluke."

The previous night against Dartmouth was just as impressive as Saturday's victory, as the Tigers rolled through the Big Green on their way to a 3-0 sweep. Princeton jumped all over them right away, taking the first two games, 30-24 and 30-25, respectively.

The Tigers kept it rolling in the third by jumping out to 20-12 lead before Dartmouth made its first real charge. The Big Green closed the gap and made a match out of it, but eventually couldn't hold up against an overpowering Princeton lineup. The Tigers took the third 30-26, and the match 3-0.

Much pressure was on the team this weekend, especially against the then undefeated Harvard squad. Fortunately for the Tigers, it is that pressure that gets the team rolling.

"Our team thrives off of playing in pressure-situation matches," Grumet said. "The more that lies on the line, the more fired up we get and the better we play. We proved that [this weekend].