Frosh Ford fills void left by star

The biggest loss the team suffered was at the libero position. Freshman libero Hillary Ford is doing all she can to fill the shoes of Jenny McReynolds ’08, however, and currently she is doing her part. McReynolds was an All-Ivy selection who in her junior year led the nation in digs per set. She was a team leader and a defensive powerhouse. Ford has quite a spot in the roster to fill but is exceeding expectations as Princeton begins its Ivy League season.

Princeton (7-2 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) has just finished its non-conference schedule and started the conference season with a 3-0 rout of last year’s Ivy League runner-up Penn. Though this experience-laden and senior-heavy team is solid at the net, the defense is generally left under the direction of the libero, placing quite a bit of responsibility on Ford’s shoulders.

Ford is capable of putting up some impressive numbers. In the Tigers’ match against Atlantic-10 power Temple, Ford recorded an impressive 22 digs in a hard-fought 3-2 loss. Facing Colgate in the very next match, she dug 19 balls in the span of a short, 3-0 victory. While her production has not been at this level in every outing — a level commensurate with the nation’s leading defensive players — these performances offer a glimpse into what she is capable of in the back row.

Over the nine matches and 28 sets in which she has played this season, she has recorded the most digs of anyone on the team with 109, a 3.89 digs-per-set average. The next-closest player is senior outside hitter, captain and reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Parker Henritze, who has recorded 96. To put this in perspective, the nation’s top 50 liberos and defensive specialists generally have a digs-per-set average above 4.5, and even as a freshman Ford is closing in on this number.

Ford picked up the game in fourth grade and has been playing ever since. She started playing for an elite club team in California at age 12. On her high school team, she assumed a different role from what she was used to on her club team, but that helped develop her all-around skills.

“My high school volleyball team was not one of the best in northern California,” Ford said. “I got to play outside hitter, which was not normal for me. It was a transition every year to get into hitting again, but it helped my game.”

Thanks to the preparation at the club level, Ford appears to be ready for the challenge of volleyball at the collegiate level.

“I was really excited about the Princeton volleyball team,” Ford said. “They had a great team last year. I was just ready for something new after playing club for six years.”

As a freshman, Ford has already experienced the pressure associated with being a college athlete. A prospective operations research and financial engineering major, Ford hit the ground running this fall with an engineering course load on top of her athletic commitments.

“It is hard to balance sports and school, but playing sports has helped me manage my time better,” Ford said.

As for adjusting, Princeton volleyball was the next logical step in Ford’s athletic career.

“The transition hasn’t been too drastic,” Ford said. “It has been an adjustment playing with a new team. The team and the seniors have been very helpful in making it a smooth transition.”

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“It is definitely some pressure, though. [McReynolds] was really great. That is something to push me to do well and to keep what she had going in the back row,” she added.

As the Tigers attempt to record the second-ever 14-win Ivy League season — this time without McReynolds — they know they are not giving up much with Ford in the back row.