McReynolds stars as women's volleyball goes 2-2 over break

Junior libero Jenny McReynolds consistently recorded all-star numbers over Fall Break, but the women's volleyball team's .500 break performance was less than award-worthy. Princeton (14-8 overall, 5-6 Ivy League) faced off against Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale and Brown, coming out of the break with two wins and two losses.

In the first match against Harvard, McReynolds led both teams in digs with 28 on the way to a 3-1 Tiger win. Leading Princeton to an unbeaten season against the Crimson were outside hitters freshman Parker Henritze and junior Lauren Grumet, who combined for 43 kills.

The Tigers cruised to a 30-15 victory in the opening game, but Harvard refused to go down without a fight. The next two games were much more evenly fought, as the Crimson closed the gap to 31-29 in the second game before taking the third game, 34-32. Princeton drove the nail into the coffin with a 30-26 victory in game four.

The Tigers defeated another Ivy foe the following day, taking down Dartmouth, 3-1.

McReynolds followed up her sensational performance against Harvard with a career performance against the Big Green. Her 54 digs marked the best performance in a four-game match since 1989, when University of Missouri-Kansas City's Catalina Suarez recorded 56 digs against University of Texas-El Paso.

McReynolds' epic performance catapulted her to the top of the Ivy League in digs per game. Her 6.48 average places the Del Mar, Calif., native 1.5 digs per game ahead of her nearest competition, Yale's Anja Perlebach.

Dartmouth took the early lead, winning the first game, 30-28. Princeton bounced back with a 30-25 victory in game two and never looked back, as the Tigers won the next two close games, 31-29 and 30-28, and sealing the match victory.

Pair of road losses

Princeton traveled to New Haven on Friday night to take on defending champion Yale. The Tigers managed to take the first game but dropped the following three for a 3-1 loss. In an episode of volleyball déjà vu, McReynolds once again led the match in digs with 29.

In the final match of the break, Princeton fell, 3-1, to Brown. The Tigers pulled out a 30-26 victory in the second game to tie the match at one, but they dropped the next game, 30-23. Princeton battled to the very end, losing a 33-31 heartbreaker in the fourth and decisive game.

McReynolds' accomplishments did not go unnoticed, despite her team's up-and-down Fall Break record. She received national recognition from Collegiate Volleyball Update, which named her National Player of the Week. Regionally, McReynolds received Player of the Week honors from the Ivy League and Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The Tigers will continue their Ivy schedule this weekend against Columbia and Cornell. Princeton hopes to seize this opportunity to pick up two wins and finish the season with a winning Ivy league record.