Baker's dozen for Princeton

Win back-to-back games on the road? Check. Sweep the first half of the Ivy League schedule? Check. Extend winning streak to 13 games? You guessed it.

All in a weekend's work for the women's volleyball team (15-3 overall, 7-0 Ivy League), which widened its lead in the Ancient Eight standings to two games with wins on the road against Dartmouth (12-6, 5-3) and Harvard (7-12, 2-5). The Tigers swept the Crimson 3-0 in Cambridge, Mass., on Friday night before outlasting the Big Green 3-2, in Hanover, N.H., on Saturday afternoon.

The matchup with Dartmouth was one of the Tigers' biggest tests to date. The game pitted two teams at the top of the Ivy standings, with Princeton needing to come back from a 2-1 deficit to maintain its perfect Ivy record.

The Tigers certainly seemed up to the task early in the first game, as they jumped out to a 19-8 lead in the first set. The Big Green would not fold, however, as it mounted an impressive comeback, knotting the score at 29-29. The teams traded points until junior middle blocker Lindsey Ensign took over, notching two kills in the games' final three points to give Princeton the 37-35 win.

Dartmouth improved on its first-game play to take the second set, 30-22, and the third, 30-26. The Big Green kept up the momentum early in the fourth set, taking an early 12-8 lead and pushing the Tigers' backs against the wall.

Princeton started to mount a comeback behind the serving of sophomore outside hitter Sheena Donahue, as the Tigers closed the score to 20-18. From there, Princeton inched closer to tie the score at 28 before junior outside hitter Parker Henritze ensured the Tigers would live to play another game, putting away two kills for a 30-28 Princeton win.

"We knew our season was on the line in the fourth game, and we had nothing to do but play our hearts out," senior libero Jenny McReynolds said. "We started swinging harder, blocking more, digging more and executing balls, especially on crucial points."

The Tigers' inspired play continued in the fifth game, as they grabbed an early lead en route to a 15-9 win to clinch the match over the Big Green. Princeton's 3-2 victory was its fourth straight in five-game contests, the previous one coming three weeks earlier over league rival Penn.

"I think this was the best volleyball our team has played this season," McReynolds said. "We stepped up when we needed to most and played to the very end of the match. I have never seen so much heart and desire to win a match on the court during the fifth game."

The Tigers' Friday game against the Crimson was not nearly as exciting, as Princeton cruised to 31-29, 30-25, 30-28 victory over its archrival. The game was dominated by the frontcourt play of Ensign, Henritze and Donahue, as the trio recorded 42 of the Tigers' 53 kills, with Henritze notching a match-high 17.

Harvard put up its biggest fight in the first game, using a strong start to take a 12-7 lead. Henritze displayed her versatility, however, using her serve to bring the Tigers back from behind to take the lead, 15-14. The two teams proceeded to trade points for the remainder of the set until McReynolds took matters into her own hands. With the teams in a 29-29 deadlock, McReynolds served out the game to give the Tigers a 31-29 victory.

After this close opening-game win, Princeton found its groove, taking the next two games from Harvard in decisive fashion. In the second set, McReynolds ignited another Tiger run with her strong serving, as she staked Princeton to a 15-12 lead that it maintained for the remainder of the set. The third set offered more of the same, with the Crimson unable to offer substantial resistance to the Tigers' balanced attack.

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Princeton's weekend success was a testament to the collective growth the team has made over the past year.

"Last year we never swept an away weekend, so the fact that we were able to win both games on our first away weekend is awesome and is a sign of the maturity we have gained since last year," junior setter Bailey Robinson said.

The sweep should give Princeton confidence heading into the second half of the conference season. The Tigers play five of their next seven games on the road and will have the added pressure of being the top dogs in the Ivy League, as each team they face will certainly want to put a dent in Princeton's perfect league record.

"Any team that goes 7-0 in the first half of the season has a huge target on its back, and we are no different," Robinson said. "A lot of the matches we won had close games, so I think teams will be hoping for revenge when they play us."

Taking this season's growing checklist of success into account, it seems likely that these Tigers will be more than up to the challenge.