Women's Volleyball: Princeton needs sweep, help from Columbia for shot at title

With three more games left in the regular season, the Tigers (13-9 overall, 8-3 Ivy League) are behind both Yale (16-7, 10-2) and Penn (13-10, 9-2) in league standings.

Just a few short weeks ago, Princeton defeated both Harvard and Dartmouth in front of a packed crowd at Dillon Gymnasium.

The Tigers will need another undefeated weekend against Harvard and Dartmouth, as well as at least one Yale loss this weekend and a win over Penn next weekend, to come away with the Ivy League title.

Both Harvard and Dartmouth are coming off identical 3-0 road losses last weekend against league leader Yale. The same weekend, Dartmouth dropped a 3-1 decision to Brown, while Harvard earned a 3-2 win against the Bears.

Princeton’s win against Harvard a few weeks ago was its most dramatic of the season, as the Tigers traded sets with the Crimson and ultimately took the final set 16-14.

After a seven-match losing streak early in the season, Harvard seems to have somewhat found its stride, going an even 0.500 the last three weekends.

To come away with a win, Princeton will need to neutralize kills by outside hitter Taylor Docter and vary its offense to find holes in Harvard’s defense.

Princeton’s previous match against Dartmouth was fairly routine. To replicate the 3-0 sweep, the Tigers will look to sophomore outside hitter Lydia Rudnick, who has averaged a league-leading 4.38 kills per set. Rudnick will have support from junior middle Cathryn Quinn who is second on the team with 2.64 kills per set. Quinn is also tied with sophomore middle blocker Jennifer Palmquist for the team lead with 67 blocks.

Dartmouth has the league’s second leading outside hitter, Madeline Baird, who has averaged 3.81 kills per set.

Columbia has been Princeton’s nemesis this season, and the Tigers will now depend on the Lions to come up with a big win this weekend over Yale.

Yale beat Columbia 3-1 in their first matchup this season. Though the Tigers are no longer in control of their own destiny, a sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend may be enough to keep Princeton’s championship hopes alive.