Women's Volleyball: Lions, Big Red next up for Princeton

After holding Penn to a dismal .010 hitting percentage and racking up eight blocks, Princeton (7-2 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) finds itself atop the league standings in opponent’s hitting percentage, allowing teams to attack successfully at a rate of only .162.

The Tigers will rely on multiple defensive schemes to limit the Lions (5-6, 0-2) and Big Red’s (3-8, 2-0) scoring opportunities. Princeton is led on defense by freshman libero Hillary Ford and senior outside hitter and captain Parker Henritze, who have racked up 109 and 96 digs this year, respectively. The Tigers are also solid at receiving serves, averaging only 1.1 serve reception error per set to their opponents’ 1.4.

Princeton’s defense will be tested Friday night by Columbia’s Amalia Viti. An outside hitter, Viti leads the league with 4.19 kills per set, while Lions libero Ellie Thomas is second in the league in service aces, behind Henritze. After dropping a 3-2 heartbreaker to Cornell, there is no doubt the Lions will be coming out with intensity, especially since the Tigers beat Columbia last year on their way to the Ivy League title, 3-1 and 3-0.

Cornell presents a different look from Columbia, featuring a more balanced attack and a strong defensive presence. The Big Red is led in kills by middle blocker Juliana Rogers, whose 2.9 kills per set ranks her only 10th in the league. Though Cornell does not rank in the top three in any offensive category, it is second in the league in blocks with 1.93 per set and leads in digs per set with 15.79.

Sitting atop the league standings at 2-0, the Big Red has extra motivation to get a win Saturday. Last year, Princeton took Cornell’s Ivy League title away after the Big Red won in 2005 and 2006. An early win over the Tigers could give Cornell a confidence boost heading into the rest of its league season.

“We really need to focus on our side-out game and make sure that Cornell or Columbia don’t take more than two points off of us at a time,” senior middle blocker Lindsey Ensign said. “Continuing to play as a team will really help us execute the type of volleyball that will allow us to do this.”

Princeton’s team of experienced veterans is going to bring its own weapons to Ithaca, however. Ensign heads into the weekend leading the league in hitting percentage at .403, followed closely by freshman middle blocker Cathryn Quinn, who ranks third with a percentage of .352. Henritze leads the league in service aces with a .42 average per set, while senior setter Bailey Robinson holds the offense together with her league-best 10.94 assists per set.

While last year’s matches with Cornell both ended in straight-set victories for the Tigers, Princeton is prepared for tough battles with the Big Red and Columbia. The team has been preparing by “scrimmaging a lot more than usual and focusing on executing our offense,” Ensign said. Having a clean offensive performance will continue to be a factor for the Tigers, who have at times struggled to maintain their rhythm this season.

With sweeps this weekend and next weekend against Yale and Brown, Princeton would set itself up nicely in the league coming into its first home matches of the year. After facing Harvard and Dartmouth on Oct. 24 and 25, the Tigers have a rematch at home with Cornell and Columbia the last weekend of Fall Break.

Though competition in the league is tight this year, Princeton owns the highest overall winning percentage with .778. But, despite Columbia and Cornell’s combined 8-14 record, the Tigers are too experienced to overlook any opponent.