Seniors leave it all on court

When entering Dillon Gym on Friday night, no one would have known that the women's volleyball team was coming off a disappointing loss to Cornell this past weekend. While the Ivy Title was no longer reachable, finishing an impressive season and sending the seniors home on a good note was the new task at hand. Princeton clinched second-place in the Ivy League with their dominating 3-0 victory against Penn last night.

With senior defensive specialist Joanna Mandecki not only playing in her last game, but also celebrating her 22nd birthday, she was left speechless after the game, when she received a cake and many congratulations from her teammates. It was Mandecki's ace that put the Tigers ahead for the first time in the final game of the match. It was the final ace of her career.

"Without that ace," head coach Glenn Nelson said, "we wouldn't have won the game."

Fellow senior captain Bayley Dixon did no disappoint as she helped lead the Tiger attack in the second and third games, recording four kills and two block assists, including the game winning block with sophomore middle blocker Lindsay Ensign that gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the match.

"It hurts to think about the seniors leaving," sophomore outside hitter Parker Henritze lamented. "They're a really big part of the team and a big part of our season."

While the Quakers may have come into the match hoping to spoil a fantastic season, the Tigers wouldn't hear of it, as they rolled through the first two games.

Princeton came off the bench ready to roar as the team jumped ahead in the first match. The Tigers were ahead by as many as eight points, 15-7, and took a 21-14 lead into the last stages of the match. Penn made a valiant effort to try to get back into the game, coming within a point of the Tigers by the end of the game.

However, freshman outside hitter Sheena Donohue wasn't interested in what Penn was trying to accomplish and slammed the door shut with a powerful kill to win the game 30-28.

After taking the 1-0 lead — with Justin Timberlake serenading Dillon Gym with SexyBack playing over the loud speaker — the Tiger spirit was strong, and the girls were getting pumped up for another victory.

The second game went much like the first, with Princeton holding a solid lead throughout the match. The Tigers came out of the gates to establish a 7-3 lead, forcing Penn to call a time out to try to break up the momentum. The rest of the game, however, was much of the same, characterized by clutch digs, big hits and a win for the Orange and Black.

While in good spirits, the Tigers had a rocky start to the third game as Penn held a small lead until the final moments of the game. But, Mandecki was not about to miss out on her storybook ending. She gave the Tigers their first lead of the match at 26-25 with her ace.

The game went back and forth, with Penn and Princeton trading kills and errors, until sophomore outside hitter Sasha Sandrai finished it off with a serve that the Quakers failed to return in bounds.