Dream of Ivy title shattered after Tigers swept by Cornell

In a match that gave meaning to the phrase "to the victor go the spoils," the women's volleyball team's dreams of an Ivy League title were quashed when Cornell swept the Tigers, 3-0, in its home territory, denying Princeton the Ivy League championship and the spot in the NCAA tournament that were on the line in this all-important penultimate contest.

The Tigers (19-3 overall, 10-3 Ivy League) started their weekend off well with a 3-0 sweep of Columbia (7-17, 1-13). In the dominating fashion that the Orange and Black has made its trademark this season, it completely shut down the Lion squad, 30-24, 30-28 and 30-18.

Despite the momentum this win gave the Tigers as they arrived in Ithaca, N.Y., it wasn't enough to knock down Cornell (18-8, 11-2). Although Princeton had defeated the Big Red earlier this season on its home court, this meeting between the two teams was characterized by complete Cornell domination.

Struggles on attack

The Tiger offense was led by its outside hitters, sophomores Lindsay Ensign and Parker Henritze and freshman Sheena Donohue who reported 15, 14 and 11 kills, respectively.

The overall Tiger attack percentage, however, was only .145 as compared to Cornell's .247. Sophomore setter Bailey Robinson secured 44 assists, the most of any Princeton or Cornell player.

On defense, the Tigers were led by Henritze, junior outside hitter Emily Turner and Donohue, who attempted to fight back against the Big Red with 21, 18 and 10 digs each. While Princeton did put in a valiant effort against a highly competitive Cornell team, its efforts proved futile.

Elizabeth Bishop and Alex Dryer, who reported 15 and 12 kills and identical .188 attack percentages, led Cornell's offense. The Big Red defense also proved stronger than that of Princeton. Megan Mushovic, Hillary Holland and Bishop, adding 24, 13 and 10 digs to the team's total of 75, led the defensive effort. Though the Tigers attempted to keep up with the Big Red and seriously challenged Cornell in the third game, Princeton ultimately fell 30-24, 30-26 and 32-30.

Heading into the match, Cornell's first-place Ivy record stood at 11-2, one win ahead of Princeton's 10-2 mark, meaning that a win by the Tigers would have put them in the driver's seat for their first Ivy League title since 2000.

With the loss, Princeton faces Penn in its last regular season game at home in Dillon Gym on Wednesday at 7 p.m., a matchup that will determine whether the Tigers finish the season in second or third place.

Tigers dominate Lions

A solid Tiger offense secured Princeton's win over Columbia. Led by Henritze and Donohue in kills, Princeton recorded 54 kills compared to the Lions' 30. Henritze, Donohue and Ensign tallied 18, 11 and eight kills respectively.

Robinson and sophomore outside hitter Kelli Grobe led the team in attack percentages, hitting .714 and .625, respectively. Robinson also recorded 42 of the team's 50 sets.

On defense, Turner, Donohue, Henritze and Robinson led the Tigers with 18, 12, 10 and nine digs. A solid all-around performance by the Tiger squad left little room for Lion success.

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The Lion squad couldn't compete with Tiger domination across the board. While the Tigers recorded a .230 attack percentage, the Lions turned in a weak .038. While Cassie Ligh and Natalie Gerling led their team in kills, the two also led their team in attack errors, causing their overall attack percentages to fall to -.053 and -.040. On defense, Ligh and Ashley Kim attempted to fight back against the Tiger squad with 15 and 14 digs each.