Women's Volleyball: Women face off against Quakers in Ivy opener

This was largely due to the steep competition the Tigers faced. At the Penn State Classic, Princeton dropped a 3-0 decision to the reigning three-time national champion hosts. The Tigers won their most recent game at home last week against Temple, however, and they look ready for the start of the Ancient Eight season.

The Quakers (4-7) come into this season as the reigning Ivy League champions and have the potential to be very dangerous. Princeton has the better record so far, but given the caliber of the opponents both teams have faced recently, their records do little to predict the outcome of this matchup.

The Quakers are fresh off a West Coast trip that saw them compete against a range of talented opponents, including No. 13 University of California, Los Angeles.

“Our tough preseason schedule does give us some confidence going forward during the season, but we still need to work on closing games,” junior middle blocker Cathryn Quinn said.

To win, the Tigers will need to continue their trend of feeding off their offense to get the defense going in long rallies. In particular, sophomore outside hitters Lydia Rudnick and Jennifer Palmquist have been key in getting the Tigers off the ground and raising the team’s energy level. It often takes a few good offensive plays to open up the game and increase the team’s communication — two traits that Princeton will look for against Penn.

“I feel like our team has actually done a great job communicating this season, especially with some new faces in the lineup,” Palmquist said. “It is still early in the season, so we can only expect to get better from here, but I think we are off to a good start.”

The Tigers’ other major goal will likely be finishing off their opponents. Princeton has played up-and-down volleyball this season, and to win the team will have to maintain its focus toward the end of sets. In the game against Temple, the team looked comfortable through the first set, but lapses late in the second set evened the match at one game apiece.

The third set was another struggle, but the Tigers managed to pull it out despite losing six points in a row to go down set point.

Princeton also faced similar problems at the Rutgers tournament, where it had opportunities to come away with a 6-2 record but let two games slip away in the closing moments.

The Tigers will contend with some of the most highly touted players in the Ivy League against Penn. The Quaker freshmen have played an important role over the past few weeks, but it has been the team’s seniors who have led the squad.

In particular, offensive hitter Julia Swanson has impressed both offensively and defensively this season. Swanson already has three double-doubles and recently became just the fifth player in Penn history to cross the 1,000 kill barrier for her career. Keeping her in check will be key to Princeton’s success this weekend.

Libero Madison Wojciechowski has been another huge part of the Quakers’ success, having set and then broken her own record for digs in a season every year since she arrived.

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After three years, she is already the school’s all-time digs leader and is a player that the Princeton front line has to watch out for if it wants to finish points off with any success.

The Tigers’ success tonight will depend on their ability to use the team’s strengths to maintain a high level of play.

“It is time for us to put all of the pieces together on the court and focus on finishing games,” Quinn said.