Defending Ivy champion Cornell no match in rout

The Empire State's Ivy League schools brought their volleyball teams to Princeton this weekend.

The result: 6-1 in the Tigers' favor and two more wins to push the Princeton hot streak to nine.

The women's volleyball team (11-3 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) defeated both of New York's Ivy League squads over the weekend, prevailing against Columbia (3-10, 0-2) on Friday night, 3-1, before dominating defending-champion Cornell (4-8, 1-2) by a 3-0 score Saturday.

The Lions, despite their 3-9 record coming into the match, fought with the zeal of a team with a winning record.

After Princeton dominated the first game, 30-12, Columbia fought back, starting the second game with a 5-0 run. Princeton countered with a 17-8 run, and the Lions never pulled within three points as the Tigers took the second game, 30-23.

Columbia finally broke through in the third game, starting things off with a 5-1 run, pushing their lead to eight, then finishing the game off with a 12-6 run for a 30-16 dismantling of Princeton.

That game was a wake up call for the Tigers, and Princeton throttled Columbia in the decisive fourth game, 30-20.

Despite their winning ways, the Tigers always seem to have a game or two during a match when they don't play as well as they could, and subsequently give the opposition the confidence and opportunity to stage a comeback.

"Our team, after we win a big game, we take a little bit off, make it easier for the other team to come back." junior outside hitter Lindsey Ensign said. "It's really not a good thing to do."

This tendency to play down to the opposition's level is usually present in teams that are also able to step up their games when facing a highly ranked opponent.

The flip-side of this otherwise negative tendency was seen Saturday afternoon, when the Tigers faced the 2006 Ivy League Champion Big Red.

Princeton came out focused and defeated Cornell in the first game, 30-20, issuing a statement to its opponent.

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The second game of the match was more contested, but the Tigers still managed to pull out the win, 30-25.

Though Princeton prevailed in the third game, 30-23, to complete the sweep, the game did shed light on one of Princeton's current weaknesses.

With the Tigers leading 12-9, a marathon exchange lasting over a minute illustrated Princeton's struggle to close out foes.

During the possession, it seemed that the Tigers would have the opportunity to turn the momentum permanently in their favor.

Cornell dug deep, however, and won the point and the momentum that came with it.

Princeton managed to win two straight points after this exchange to regain control, but losing that long rally still did not sit well with the Tigers.

"I think there is a sense of urgency on the team that we don't have all the time that we should have all the time," Ensign said. "We get a little too comfortable, and we end up not pushing ourselves to our full capacity. But we have the capability to do a lot better, and that's when we come back, and we know we can do that."

The Tigers' confidence will be put to the test during the rest of their Ivy League schedule.

Princeton will face each Ivy League team at least once, starting with Yale and Brown this weekend at Dillon Gym, where the Tigers are 5-0.

"We're really glad we're at home," Ensign said, "because we really like playing in Dillon."

After that, the majority of Princeton's games will be on the road, and the Tigers know that the Ivy League is anything but wrapped up.

"Dartmouth looks like it's going to be our toughest competition, [judging from] the other games that have been going on in the Ivy League," Ensign said. "I don't think we have anything to rest on. We have a lot of tough games coming up."