Women's volleyball's hot hitting spikes Colgate off court in victory

The Tigers came out ready to play in the day’s first contest, using their defense and teamwork to bury the Red Raiders in three sets, 25-18, 25-17, 25-16. The Colgate win was highlighted by big performances from junior outside hitter Sheena Donohue and freshman middle blocker Cathryn Quinn. Donohue recorded 11 kills and three block assists, including two huge kills in the middle of a five-point Princeton run that essentially ended the second set.

“I think we played really well as a team during the Colgate match,” Donohue said. “Everyone was very energetic.”

Quinn continued the impressive start to her freshman year, hitting .500 while notching 10 kills, three block assists and two digs. She sealed the final set with authority, hammering down the match-ending kill off an assist from senior setter Bailey Robinson.

“I have had so much fun in my first few collegiate matches getting to know how the other players play during competition,” Quinn said of her role as a freshman starter. “I have learned what I need to work and improve on in order for us to succeed.”

Robinson pitched in a match-high 36 assists, while senior middle blocker Lindsey Ensign contributed seven kills in 12 total attacks. Anchoring the Princeton defense were freshman libero Hillary Ford and senior outside hitter and captain Parker Henritze, who recorded 19 and eight digs respectively.

The Tigers could not relish in their Colgate victory, however. Almost immediately after its first match ended, Princeton took the court again to face a fresh Syracuse team. Plagued by fatigue, the Tigers saw their team attack percentage drop to .038. The Orangemen capitalized on numerous Princeton errors, capturing the victory in straight sets, 25-17, 25-19, 25-19.

Lack of rest was certainly a factor, and Syracuse used its fresh legs to dominate the Tigers at the net. Princeton was blocked nine times, and no player other than Henritze recorded more than six kills.

“Syracuse was definitely a much better team than Colgate, with great blocking and digging,” Donohue said. “But I think that we could have played better against them had we had more time to rest before the game.”

Henritze’s double-double performance of 10 kills and 11 digs was one of the only bright spots of the match. Even the Ivy League Player of the Year committed an uncharacteristic 11 attacking errors, however. As a team, Princeton racked up 28 errors in three sets, nearly twice as many as it had in its match against Colgate.

“As a team, I think we are going to try to focus on making smarter plays in order to minimize our mistakes,” Quinn said of how the Tigers plan to cut down on hitting errors.

Donohue emphasized that staying positive is crucial to a team’s early-season success. “If a team is shutting us down, we have to work on different plays to get back our momentum,” she said, adding that the team needs to “just keep on swinging.”

While winning is important for the Tigers as they move forward through their non-conference schedule, defeating opponents comes second to perfecting aspects of their own game in time for Ivy play.

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“We are going to try to learn from our losses against Temple and Syracuse and improve in areas we faltered in [during] those games in order to be successful against our tough Ivy League competition,” Quinn said.

Princeton has nearly a full week of practice to prepare for next weekend’s Seton Hill Tournament in Greensburg, Pa. The matches against Seton Hill and Juanita will serve as the final dress rehearsals before the Tigers travel to Penn to kick off their quest to repeat as Ivy League champion, a feat the players know will not be easy.

“This year everyone is looking to beat us,” Donohue said. “We know we aren’t going down without a fight.”