We're not in P.E. anymore

Bump, set, spike, repeat. These four words sum up the essence of 99 percent of the world's understanding of volleyball. Journey into Dillon Gym on a Friday night, however, and one bears witness to an entirely different spectacle courtesy of the women's volleyball team.

The only similarity between a college volleyball game and the brand of volleyball played in gym classes across the country is that each side has six players. But while recreational volleyball players participate in all aspects of the game, collegiate players have designated roles on the court.

In fact, many members of a team never have the chance to attempt that authoritative spike every five-foot, six-inch boy dreams of hitting. For members of the women's volleyball team, their positions mandate that they perform a specific, essential function on the court.

The perfect example of this is the setter. The setter has the important job of hitting the second shot to set up her teammates for a spike. Junior Bailey Robinson is the lone setter on the Princeton team, making it necessary for her to be on the court the entire game. Ask other players on the team about the key to its success, and they are eager to mention Robinson.

"The formation of our team is solely based around our setter, Bailey Robinson. She is our only setter throughout the whole game, whether she is in the front row or the back row," senior libero Jenny McReynolds said.

The reason Robinson cannot take a play off is that Princeton plays a five-one offense. The Tigers have five hitters on the court at all times, the one exception being Robinson. As the only setter on the court, Robinson tries to avoid hitting returns of the serve, as a player cannot hit the ball twice in a row. When Robinson hits the ball, there is an entire cast of players she can set to, all with different roles on the court.

The first is the middle blocker, who is often one of the tallest and quickest players on the court. The middle blocker has the difficult task of defending against the other team's top attacking players, which requires fast reaction time and good leaping ability.

"I think a good middle blocker needs to be quick to allow her to move across the net to defend different sets their opponents might use against them," junior middle blocker Lindsey Ensign explained.

Complementing Ensign in energizing the Princeton offense are the team's outside hitters. These players are often on the receiving end of Robinson's sets, aiming to put the ball away and win the majority of their team's points. Since Princeton plays with only one setter, it often has two or three outside hitters on the court at once. By having so many hitters on the court, Princeton is able to present a balanced and diversified attack. Robinson generally coordinates this attack, yelling out plays with names such as "Cheetah" or "Turtle" to organize the Tigers' offense.

During a Princeton volleyball game, one player often stands out on the court because she is wearing a different colored jersey. No, this player did not forget her home uniform in the morning, but is instead wearing this uniform to designate her special role as the libero.

"I am allowed to replace any player in the back row without counting as a substitution," McReynolds said. "The reason why I wear a different colored jersey is so the refs can easily track me because I go on and off the court replacing a player very quickly and often."

The libero substitutes so often because her main role is to anchor the team's defense in the back row. Her substitutions do not count toward the limit of 15 substitutions per set. The libero can only be replaced by that same player with whom she had just substituted, however.

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While all these roles may seem incredibly confusing on paper, the Princeton women play these positions to near perfection on court. Working as a synthesized unit, the Tigers' formation allows them to take advantage of all their players' strengths, a strategy whose success has been readily apparent in the team's recent 10 game win streak.