Volleyball: First homestand proves a sweeping success

Playing their first home matches of the season, the Tigers (14-3 overall, 8-1 Ivy League) secured weekend sweeps of Harvard, Dartmouth, Cornell and Columbia. These wins extended Princeton’s league win streak to five and kept the Tigers within a half game of first-place Yale in the Ivy standings.

While Princeton was no doubt anxious to finally play in front of a home crowd, the team remained focused, putting Harvard (9-13, 4-6) away 3-0. Though the three sets were close (28-26, 25-23, 25-21), the Tigers were in control for most of the match. Led by freshman middle blocker Cathryn Quinn, who hit .500 and had 14 kills, Princeton’s attack was too strong and well balanced for Harvard’s defense. Senior outside hitter and captain Parker Henritze and junior outside hitter Sheena Donohue both had 13 kills and 14 digs, while senior setter Bailey Robinson paced the attack with 45 assists and a service ace.

“Having the crowd there definitely gave us a boost of energy,” Donohue said. “It had been so long since we played at home that we forgot what it was like to not be the team getting heckled.”

The next afternoon, the Tigers found themselves in a back-and-forth battle with Dartmouth (8-13, 3-7). After winning a tight first set, Princeton dropped the second set to the Big Green, 27-25. The Tigers won the match in four sets after using an 8-0 run to claw back from a 21-14 deficit in the fourth set, which featured stellar defensive play and lengthy rallies. Henritze, who racked up another double-double with 23 kills and 14 digs, was one of four Tigers with double-digit kills. Donohue had another double-double of her own, with 18 kills and 10 digs, and Robinson helped secure the victory with her 52-assist, 15-dig and two-block performance.

Robinson’s performances against Harvard and Dartmouth earned her Ivy League Player of the Week honors, while Quinn earned Rookie of the Week after averaging 3.57 kills per set and leading the Tigers in attack percentage against the Crimson and Big Green.

The Tigers continued their win streak this past weekend, sweeping Cornell (7-13, 6-4) and Columbia (5-14, 0-10) to move to 8-1 in league play.

Despite hitting only .158 against the Big Red, Princeton won due to a tough defensive effort. Freshman libero Hillary Ford led the Tigers with 22 digs, while Donohue and Henritze pitched in 14 and 13 digs, respectively. Senior middle blocker Lindsey Ensign was the bright spot for the offense, pounding down 15 kills in 26 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .423.

The Tigers regained their offensive momentum against Columbia on their way to a dominating 3-0 victory on Saturday. Princeton used a .410 hitting percentage and nine aces to overpower the Lions by a score of 25-5, 25-15, 25-12. In a match in which every player on the roster saw action, the Tigers committed only 10 errors in 78 total attacks. Though the offensive and defensive contributions were balanced, Donohue led Princeton with 10 kills and eight digs, while Henritze chipped in with nine kills and 12 digs of her own.

“It was important for us to control what was on our side of the court,” Donohue said of the wins over Cornell and Columbia, adding that “controlling our momentum is key.”

Despite a relatively easy weekend, the road ahead is fraught with challenges. Only three games stand between Princeton and a rematch with Yale at Dillon Gym. After games next weekend at Dartmouth and Harvard, the Tigers will return home for their final regular-season matches. The team’s final match will be against Yale, which is the only Ivy League team to have beaten the Tigers since 2006. Princeton cannot afford to look too far ahead, though. The Big Green, the Tigers’ next opponent, is the only Ivy League team besides Yale to have taken a game off Princeton this season.