Tigers swept by Columbia, Cornell on road

The women's volleyball team switched streaks this weekend. After shutting out Dartmouth and Harvard the previous weekend, Princeton fell Friday and Saturday in consecutive sweeps.

In hopes of coming home victorious, everything seemed to go wrong for the Tigers. Princeton (10-5 overall, 2-3 Ivy League) lost two key games to Ivy League competitors this past weekend — Cornell (12-3, 5-0) on Friday and Columbia (4-11, 2-3) on Saturday.

After losing, 3-0, to Cornell last year in the semifinal match for the Ivy League NCAA Tournament bid, the Tigers arrived at Newman Arena seeking revenge. But Princeton initially played timidly, falling behind, 8-1, early in the first game.

The Big Red had a run of six kills before the Tigers were forced to call a timeout to regroup. Freshman outside hitter Parker Henritze revived Princeton's spirits by scoring a kill between two Cornell errors, bringing the game to 8-4. The Tigers, led by freshman middle blocker Lindsey Ensign, senior outside hitter Lauren Grumet and Henritze, continued to chase after the Big Red, coming within four points on myriad occasions. The closest Princeton pulled was three points at 16-13, but then the Tigers unexpectedly shut down. Cornell scored nine consecutive points on five kills, two blocks, one ace and a Princeton error. Too far behind to play catch up, the Tigers lost, 30-17, in the first game.

The loss did not seem to surprise the players.

"Cornell has unfortunately become a mental match for us in the past year," senior setter Jenny Senske said. "Our losses to them last season seemed to carry over and create an essence of hesitancy in our play Friday night."

But the first game loss ignited Princeton fervor, creating an exciting start to the second game. Though the Big Red scored the first point, the Tigers played strong offense and defense, keeping up the intensity of the game until the score was 12-12. Yet, once again, hesitancy held the players back. Cornell quickly scored seven consecutive points and in the end defeated Princeton, 30-24.

The third game mimicked the second with an early tie at nine but continued with the Tigers playing tag to a loss at 30-26.

Princeton was disappointed with its play in the 3-0 loss, even though the last two games were much more competitive.

"It was obvious in our timid play, almost as if we were afraid to make a mistake," senior middle blocker Brittany Wood said. "We were unable to get past their block, and our defense wasn't good enough to stop their offense. All in all, we had a bad game."

In the end, both Ensign and Grumet recorded 10 kills, while Henritze recorded nine kills and 12 digs. Both junior libero Jenny McReynolds and Senske played extraordinarily well, even though the end result was a team loss. McReynolds achieved a match-high 19 digs, while Senske paced the offense with 40 assists.

The team left rural New York for the city, hoping for better results against Columbia.

Lost chances

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With the Tigers' lone loss to the Lions coming in 2001, Princeton predicted another win to add to its considerable success against Columbia. Instead, the Tigers helped the Lions rewrite their history book this past weekend.

"We came into it expecting them to be the same team as last year and quickly win and leave," Senske said. "This was far from the case."

Freshman outside hitter Kelli Grobe and Henritze helped Princeton lead off the match against Columbia with a 3-0 lead. The Lions quickly caught up and tied the game at six with the help of improved blocking.

"As soon as they started blocking us and defending against our attacks, we were stunned," Wood said.

The Tigers watched helplessly as Columbia amassed an eight-point lead at 27-19 and eventually won, 30-25.

Princeton was determined to fight back during the second game. The trio of Wood, Ensign and Grumet contributed a large number of kills, creating intense rallies throughout the match. The Tigers had victory in sight when leading 27-24, but then fell back, losing 30-28.

"We looked disconnected," Henritze said. "We would have a string of four points and then breakdown and make a lot of mistakes."

The fans could feel the intensity during the third game as Princeton fought with desperation. In a game that seemed like a lost cause for the Tigers, down early at 14-6, they regrouped and fought back. With Senske's row of perfect sets, the offense tied the game at 20, scoring seven points in a row. Still, the Lions refused to back down and edged out Princeton in a 30-24 victory.

Though the Tigers came home with two losses, the team returned more determined than ever.

"The weekend ended with much frustration and even sadness," Senske said, "but ... we learned last season that the Ivy League is an unpredictable one, and it is precisely this reality that reminds us that there is still hope left."