Women's volleyball rolls through Marist Invitational

It was a familiar situation for the women's volleyball team (8-1 overall) this weekend at the Marist Invitational in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: three games, three wins, one title.

On Friday night, the Tigers dropped host Marist (4-10) in four games. Saturday morning, Princeton rolled over Providence (1-15) in a quick three games. The Tigers clinched the title in four games by taking out Fairleigh Dickinson (7-10) later that day.

Since dropping its second game of the season, Princeton has reeled off seven straight wins as the players have gelled as a team and learned to rely on each other.

"We are starting to figure out where we need to be and trusting that everyone else will pick up the balls they're supposed to get," said freshman outside hitter Parker Henritze, who was named tournament MVP.

Camaraderie alone, however, did not drive the Tigers to their second tournament title of the season. Princeton came on the court hungry for a win in each game and turned up the heat on its already fiery offense.

"We were ready to win from the very first point of each game," junior libero Jenny McReynolds said. "Every member of our team was fired up, both on and off the court, and that helped our confidence."

Henritze and senior outside hitter Lauren Grumet continued to lead the Tiger offense, and both were named to the all-tournament team. Henritze was an offensive machine with 53 kills over the course of the weekend, along with a blistering 10 aces. Grumet added another six aces to Princeton's total.

In previous tournaments, individual players were the ones who came up with great shots. At Marist, however, the Tiger squad showed more rhythm in their passing, which opened up more opportunities for Princeton to put together more tactical plays.

"Our passing was consistent and strong, which helped feed our offensive strategies. [Senior setter Jenny] Senske made really good choices on her sets, which tricked the other team's defense," McReynolds said.

Defensively, blocking, which had troubled the Tigers at the Rider Classic Tournament last weekend, began to improve. The middle blockers, especially freshman Lindsay Ensign, kept their opponents off balance, thereby increasing the production disparity between the two offenses.

"Our middle blockers did a really good job setting up the block — they had so many touches and blocks," McReynolds said.

McReynolds' own impact should not be overlooked, as she led the team in digs with an average of 6.8 per game this weekend.

Three in a row

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Princeton opened the tournament Friday night with a tight loss in the first game to Marist, 30-27. Sophomore outside hitter Emily Turner came in the second game to give the Tigers a much-needed spark, and Princeton bounced back to win by a score of 30-26. The Tigers kept up the pace, winning the final two games 30-25 and 30-24, respectively.

On Saturday morning, Princeton simply rolled over an overmatched Providence team in three straight games. For most of the first game, the Tigers kept the Friars in single digits, ultimately winning 30-14. The next two games were a blur, as Princeton toppled Providence 30-18 and 30-17, respectively.

In the final game of the tournament, the Tigers produced another come-from-behind win on Saturday afternoon against Fairleigh Dickinson to claim the tournament's title. Though Princeton led for most of the first game, the Tigers could not finish off their opponents and ultimately lost, 30-28.

In the next two games, Princeton ensured that the Knights would have no chance to crawl back into contention, easily rolling over Fairleigh Dickinson and winning the third in a blowout, 30-9. With the momentum, the Tigers seemed like a lock to gain victory in the match.

After a back-and-forth fourth game, Princeton held two match points at 29-27, but the Knights staved off both. After ties at 29 and 30, the Tigers finally took two straight points, winning 32-30.

Ivy slate on horizon

While Princeton has shown its power in the team's two tournament wins, there are still areas in which the Tigers need to improve before the regular season opens this Friday.

"I think we need to improve on lessening dumb errors," McReynolds said. "We looked lazy at certain points in some games: we would hit out, shank balls, serve into the net."

The time for Princeton to improve is running out. Friday, the Tigers begin Ivy League play — in which every match is a must-win for a team hoping to take the league crown — hosting Penn at Dillon Gym.