Women's Volleyball: No place like Dillon after 13 on road

Following two months of traveling, the Tigers (10-3 overall, 4-1 Ivy League) will finally be home this weekend, hosting Ivy rivals Harvard (8-10, 3-3) and Dartmouth (6-10, 2-4) at Dillon Gym. Though Princeton fell to Yale (11-4, 5-1) last weekend, ending its 18-match Ivy win streak, a victory over Brown (9-9, 2-4) the following day combined with Yale’s loss to Penn (6-11, 2-3) kept the Tigers in contention for the league crown.

With the title on its mind, Princeton will hit the court Friday at 7 p.m. to face off against the Crimson. The Tigers will look to extend their 11-game win streak over Harvard, whom Princeton has dominated in 40 of the teams’ last 48 meetings. As Penn’s unexpected upset of Yale proved, however, the Ivy League is anything but predictable.

“I think there is a ton of parity in the Ivy League this year, which is not totally abnormal,” senior outside hitter and captain Parker Henritze said. “It will make it exciting heading into the second half of the season after this weekend, however, since it’s still anybody’s game.”

The Crimson squad is led largely by underclassmen and boasts a freshman as one of its most indomitable players. Anne Ingersoll was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Tuesday for the fourth time this season, and she leads her team with a .436 hitting average. Harvard’s youthful roster proved itself on the court two weekends ago when the squad nearly upset first-place Yale in a tight 3-2 match.

“I think [Harvard is] a young team,” Henritze said, “but if their performance to date is any indicator, then it looks like they have been finding ways to win despite less experience than some other teams in the league.”

After their match against Harvard, the Tigers will return to Dillon on Saturday at 4 p.m. for a showdown with the Big Green. Though Princeton defeated Dartmouth twice last season, neither win came easily. The last time the Tigers played the Big Green, they trailed early in the first two games and came dangerously close to losing their status as top dog in the Ivy League. Princeton rallied back, however, and managed to pull away with a 3-1 win.

“[Dartmouth is] always a competitive team that’s solid all around,” Henritze said. “We fought hard last year to beat them at Dartmouth, and they always come to play.”

If the Tigers want to maintain their position atop the league this weekend, they will have to play far better than they did in their loss to Yale. One of the key factors in last weekend’s loss was Princeton’s inability to make strong offensive plays, as evidenced by its sub-.200 hitting percentage in every set.

While last weekend’s match may have shown the Tigers at their worst, the rest of the season’s success can be attributed to their well-rounded, well-balanced team. Leading the offense are junior outside hitter Sheena Donohue, who completed 16 kills on 25 swings and hit .560 against the Bears, and Henritze, who added 12 digs, five aces and seven kills in last weekend’s win. Another Princeton offensive force this weekend will be senior setter Bailey Robinson, who led the team with 33 assists and was four-for-four in kill attempts last weekend. The Tigers also benefit from the presence of senior middle blocker Lindsey Ensign, who leads the teams in kill percentage at .431.

Though the Tigers can finally boast home-court advantage, this in no way guarantees them the win.

“We expect a really tough match against Harvard, who has been playing exceptionally well,” Henritze said. “Dartmouth is also going to be a tough match, especially coming on the heels of the Harvard game. We look forward to both matches and know that every win matters for an Ivy League title.”