Tigers close season with win over Penn on the road

Anyone in attendance at the women's volleyball team's last match of 2005 at Penn on Wednesday must have felt like they were watching an instructional video on setting the ball. Departing senior setter Jenny Senske ran a clinic in her last game for the Tigers (17-8 overall, 8-6 Ivy League), tallying an astonishing 50 assists to lead the team to a 3-1 win over the Quakers (10-16, 7-7).

Her work allowed the entire offense to flow smoothly and pull out a hard-earned victory. Without Senske, there is little doubt that Princeton's outside hitters would have had more trouble getting kills on a night when the Quaker defense was working well.

The team has come to expect great performances from Senske, who averaged nearly 13 assists a game this year, a mark that placed her second in the Ivy League in that statistic. The team will bid a fond farewell to her and to two other seniors, outside hitter Lauren Grumet and middle blocker Brittany Wood, all natives of California.

Senske is the Tigers' starting setter, while Grumet and Wood are both key players on offense. Grumet posted 12 kills in Wednesday's game, and Wood had six kills and two blocks.

Their strong efforts were crucial, as Princeton took the first game from Penn, 30-20. But it soon became clear that the Tigers were not headed for an easy victory. After dropping the second game 30-21, the Orange and Black rallied to win the last two in dramatic fashion, 30-24 and 30-26.

Throughout the last two games, it became clear that the team wanted to send off its seniors with a win. The victory allowed Princeton's three departing seniors to leave on a positive note and provided momentum for next year's team: the returning players can take some satisfaction out of taking sole possession of fourth place in the Ivy League.

The Tigers will welcome back one of the newest but most valuable members of its front line, freshman Parker Henritze. In her rookie season, Henritze was second in the Ivy League in kills with nearly five a game. Such a strong effort from a freshman has been a huge benefit for the team and will almost surely earn her Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors.

Also returning is junior libero Jenny McReynolds, who led the Ivies in digs and is considered by her coaches to be the premier defensive player in the league. Behind the offensive effort of Henritze and the defense of McReynolds, next year's Princeton's team could certainly contend for the Ivy League title, captured this year by Cornell.

But Wednesday night, thoughts of the coming season were far from the team's thoughts as it said goodbye to three players who gave the Tigers four years of hard work and strong play. For them, a well-earned victory was the perfect send-off.