Women's Volleyball: League favorites square off tonight

While each league game is crucial, the team that finds a way to win tonight’s match places itself in the driver’s seat as the halfway mark of the Ivy season nears. The Tigers would then have the advantage of protecting their title at home, as seven of their final nine matches are at Dillon Gym.

Like Princeton, Yale is anchored by an experienced and talented group of upperclassmen, three of whom have been Ivy League Players of the Week. Junior outside hitter Alexis Crusey comes into the match ranked second in the league in total kills, followed closely by her classmate, outside hitter Cat Dailey. Dailey, a transfer from Cal, was named Ivy League Player of the Week after leading Yale to a 3-2 victory over rival Harvard last Saturday.

“Yale is definitely one of the strongest teams in the league and are particularly good this year,” senior outside hitter and captain Parker Henritze said. “They have a lot of experience, with their senior setter pacing the offense as well as a great outside hitter in Alexis Crusey.”

Offensively, Princeton and Yale are evenly matched, with the Bulldogs in the league’s top three in every offensive category. After last weekend, however, the Tigers are still leading the league in hitting percentage, assists and kills. Princeton will look to maintain the balanced attack that helped it sweep Columbia and Cornell last weekend. In the game against Cornell, three players had 10 kills, and senior setter Bailey Robinson racked up 40 assists.

“It is critical that we keep exploiting all of our hitters,” Henritze said of the Tigers’ offensive balance. “It helps create holes in the blocks and gives Bailey so many options to try to create one-on-one hitting opportunities.”

Though the Tigers have focused on executing their offensive game plans, they have also been solid on the defensive side. Princeton continues to lead the Ivy League in opponents’ hitting percentage, holding foes to a combined percentage of .160. Ford, who is third in the league in total digs, is a large part of the Tigers’ defensive success. As she heads into the biggest game of her Princeton career to date, Ford said that being prepared and staying calm are keys for the team.

“I’m trying to approach this game as I would any other,” Ford said. “This will probably be our toughest league game [to date], but I think it’s important to focus on myself and my team and just make sure that we are ready to play our hearts out.”

After the crucial matchup tonight, the Tigers will have to rely on their veteran leadership to remain intense and focused for their Saturday-night match at Brown (9-7, 1-3). Beginning the season on an 8-1 tear, the Bears have now dropped six of their last seven, including a 3-1 loss to Dartmouth last Saturday.

While the Yale match may have a more immediate impact on the standings, Princeton cannot afford to overlook Brown. The Tigers know that losing just one game, even in the first half of the Ivy season, can be the difference between defending a league title and falling to second place.

“We’ve watched some film, so we have an idea of what to expect,” Ford said. “They are both very good teams and have some great players that we need to be ready for, but we need to focus on our side of the net.”