Tigers stay hot against Leopards

After Wednesday night's road victory over Lafayette, it is clear that the women's volleyball team's desire to win is as intense as O.J. Simpson's desire to possess his own sports memorabilia.

The 3-0 sweep of the Leopards (6-8 overall) was the fourth win in as many tries for the Tigers (6-3). Princeton dominated the three games, logging 14 more kills and 16 more attacks than Lafayette.

The Tigers set the tone early, winning the first game, 30-13. But Lafayette didn't give in and put up more of a fight in the last two games. The second game was particularly competitive, with 10 tied scores and two lead changes. Despite the Leopards' persistence, Princeton managed to win the second game, 30-24. The third game also had a close score of 30-27 but did not have the ties or lead changes of the second.

Princeton's All-Ivy middle blocker, junior Lindsey Ensign, led the team with 15 kills and a 67 percent attack rate, while sophomore outside hitter Sheena Donohue contributed 12 kills. On the Lafayette side of the net, Katrina Racibarskas had 10 kills and Kayly Elmer added eight.

"I think that we did a good job of staying focused and made sure not to let Lafayette get too much of a lead," Donahue said. "This allowed us to maintain a high level of play throughout the whole game."

The Leopards out-dug Princeton 48-45, with Michaela Donohue and Kari Horn leading Lafayette with 11 digs each. For Princeton, senior defensive specialist Jenny McReynolds led the Tigers with 12 digs, while junior outside hitter Parker Henritze had 11.

Princeton's current win streak began in the wake of a difficult, straight-set loss to Liberty in the opening match of the Villanova tournament last weekend. That loss ended a two-game win streak for the Tigers and dropped their record to below .500.

Faced with the prospect of an extended losing streak going into its Ivy League schedule, Princeton regrouped to win its next game and is now back on track.

"It is nice to have a winning record, and it is helpful to go out and play coming off of a solid streak," Donohue said, "but we just need to focus on each game as a chance to refine our skills and work together as a unit."

A win streak in such pressurized conditions and in such a short time can do nothing but help a team with only two seniors.

The Tigers now have momentum going into their Ivy League schedule, which opens with five-straight conference games in Princeton, starting with Penn and followed by Columbia, Cornell, Yale and Brown in a span of 15 days.

"I think that the win streak will give us enough confidence in ourselves to know we can outplay any team in the Ivies," Donohue said, "but it's just a matter of putting that to practice during the upcoming games."

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Chock full of confidence at a critical juncture in its season, Princeton now seems well positioned to extend its current streak into the crucial league portion of its schedule.