Delaware ousts Tigers

QUEENS, N.Y. — As the old saying goes, "All good things must come to an end."

The women's volleyball team learned that lesson in painful fashion Friday night, as the Tigers (22-4 overall, 14-0 Ivy League) lost 3-1 to Delaware (31-4 overall) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at St. John's University. Princeton won the first game of the match 30-24 before dropping the final three by scores of 32-30, 30-27 and 30-22. The loss was the Tigers' first since Sept. 14 and ended their school record 19-game winning streak.

Despite a two-week layoff between the end of the regular season and the NCAA Tournament, Princeton came out firing in its effort to win the first NCAA match in team history. The Tigers opened the first game with a 6-0 lead behind strong frontcourt play from junior middle blocker Lindsey Ensign and junior outside hitter Parker Henritze, who combined for 36 kills. Princeton's early lead gave it a cushion that it would not relinquish, as the Tigers led throughout the game en route to a 30-24 win.

Heading into the second game with an opportunity to take convincing control of the match, however, Princeton's lack of recent in-game action seemed to catch up with the team.

"I think that not playing a few weeks had some effects in the outcome tonight," junior setter Bailey Robinson said. "Coming back after Thanksgiving break, [we were] a little slower and a little off-speed."

In a hard-fought second game with multiple lead changes, the Tigers certainly had their chances. Princeton grabbed a game point at 29-28 on junior outside hitter Sheena Donohue's strong play. The Tigers had multiple chances to close out the game, but Delaware evened the score on a kill by outside hitter Colleen Walsh. The Blue Hens then used their size advantage to win three of the final four points and evened the match with a 32-30 win.

"The second game was a heartbreaker," head coach Glenn Nelson said. "Ultimately their size was a factor because they could jump a little higher, and they were bigger than us."

Delaware continued to capitalize on its slight athletic advantage in the third game, building a 17-10 lead. The Blue Hens were buoyed by the play of outside hitter Kelly Gibson, who finished with a match-high 19 kills.

With the score 22-15 in Delaware's favor, Princeton's boisterous busload of fans — brought to the game by a USG initiative — finally arrived after a three-hour traffic-filled voyage on the Long Island Expressway. The presence of their fans propelled the Tigers to a late-game comeback, as Princeton rattled off six of seven points to knot the score, 26-26. Henritze and senior libero Jenny McReynolds — playing to extend her collegiate career another day — each summoned up point-saving, diving digs during the rally.

While the Tigers made a living off clutch late-game performances in the regular season, it was Delaware that came up with the big plays to end the third game. Behind kills from Walsh and Gibson, Delaware won four of the game's final five points for a 30-27 victory.

In the beginning of the fourth game, Princeton had a chance to get back into the match. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they missed eight kill opportunities early on. Had they capitalized on half of them, the score would have been 12-4 in Princeton's favor. As it was, the game remained tied 8-8 before Gibson took over for the Blue Hens. The overpowering junior notched five kills and an ace in the final game, leading Delaware to a 30-22 victory and a berth in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against St. John's.

"One thing I mentioned before the match was that we had to convert our opportunities because we'll create them," Nelson said. "One thing that happened was we didn't convert enough of them. You've got to give Delaware credit, they're better defensively than I thought they'd be. They made so many plays where I thought the play was over — and they'd get under the ball."

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Despite the loss, this Tiger squad will go into the record books as one of the best in Princeton history. In addition to their 19-game win streak, the Tigers became the first team ever to finish the Ivy League season 14-0. In the process, Nelson captured his 560th career win, setting the record for a Princeton coach in any sport.

"I don't think this loss put a dent in our season because we just competed in the NCAA Tournament," Henritze said. "We've accomplished everything and more that we expected at the beginning of the year."

The season was also filled with standout individual performances. Five Tigers earned All-Ivy honors, including Henritze, the Ivy League Player of the Year, Robinson, the NCAA leader in assists and McReynolds, the team's defensive anchor for the past four seasons.

"Jenny defines her position," Nelson said. "I don't know how we're going to replace her."

Though the Tigers will lose their defensive star, the outlook is still bright for next season. Princeton will return six of its seven starters, including Robinson, and the frontcourt trio of Ensign, Henritze and Donohue. With another year of experience under their belts, these four should form the most imposing attack in the Ivy League.

While the future holds much promise, the Tigers' sad reality is that one of the most exciting seasons in team history has ended.

As Nelson said after the game, "It was magical until tonight."