Women’s volleyball sweeps Columbia, falls to Cornell in weekend conference slate

Building on early success in conference play, Princeton women’s volleyball (4–7 overall, 2–1 Ivy League) geared up for a weekend home stand against the Columbia Lions (6–5, 0–2) and the Cornell Big Red (7–5, 3–0). Although the Tigers have faced an up and down season, they’ve begun finding their rhythm at just the right time, and shown that they are a serious contender in Ivy League play. Princeton kept its wave of momentum going with a sweep of Columbia on Friday, before getting swept themselves just a day later against the Big Red.

Princeton sweeps Columbia in dominant Friday night showing

As the Tigers enter the heart of their season in Ivy League play, victories are critical to establish confidence and momentum. And with 37 kills and 10 aces on the night, soaring past their season averages, the Tigers did just that.

Princeton came out of the gate on fire, starting the first set with an 8–1 run. A kill from senior outside hitter Erin McNair, who recorded an impressive nine kills that night, forced the Lions to call an early timeout and regroup. The Lions came back from the timeout ready to respond, pushing the score to as close as 16–8 by forcing the Tigers into several defensive errors. However, a pair of kills from sophomore middle blocker Shelby Burriss brought the momentum back in Princeton’s favor, and the Tigers closed out the first set with a resounding 25–13 victory.

Burriss led the Tigers’ offense by posting 10 kills against the Lions, nearly matching her season high of 11 kills that she set against Pennsylvania (9–4, 1–2) in the first game of conference play. Her dominant offensive performance was critical in Friday night’s win, and the Tigers are certainly hoping to see her build on it as she continues her sophomore season.

The second set began slowly for the Orange and Black, but heated up quickly with a vicious right-side line kill from senior middle blocker Ava Harrington that propelled the Tigers into a 5–1 run. Columbia called yet another early timeout facing an 8–4 deficit, but the Tigers were unfazed. Harrington and junior middle blocker Ashley Duckworth recorded a clean stuff block, and the Tigers’ offense took off with senior setter Sydney Draper facilitating and involving every attacker. Overcoming some struggles with blocking and hitter coverage, Princeton continued to lead and brought the set to 24–13. Another strong stuff block from Harrington and Duckworth silenced the Lions and ended the set, 25–13.

The Tigers’ aggressive play paid off, as they entered the third set against the Lions two sets up and ready to confidently close out their second game of Ivy play.

With their backs against the wall, the Lions fought back and quickly took control of the third set, taking a 4–1 lead. However, Princeton came back swinging with several kills and a pair of aces from McNair to bring the score to 6–5 and force Columbia into several attacking and blocking errors. The Tigers and Lions traded kills and remained neck-and-neck until a strong serving run from Burriss put the Tigers up 18–13 and forced the Lions to call a timeout. 

Both teams returned from the timeout with a defensive fire, and the court turned into a block party. Duckworth denied a Columbia attack, and Columbia immediately responded in turn, meeting McNair at the net and blocking her attack. Harrington and Burriss kept it going on the next play, stuff-blocking a Columbia attacker and forcing another Lions timeout. Burriss cemented her offensive prowess after the timeout with a pair of kills that brought the Tigers up to 24–20, and junior outside hitter Ashtyn Sims ended the hard-fought set with a kill of her own, delivering a much-needed victory over Columbia at home.

It was an incredible serving night for Princeton, and the Tigers ended the night with 10 aces: six from McNair, three from Harrington, and one from Draper. Aggressive serving and clean volleyball were the highlights of the game, alongside Burriss and McNair’s stellar offense. 

“Volleyball is a game of serve and pass and I think our team executed both really well which allowed the rest of our game to follow in suit,” McNair said to The Daily Princetonian.

With this victory, Princeton notched their 16th straight win against Columbia, an impressive streak that began in 2017. 

“To be honest, I don’t think any of us girls really keep track of streaks like that from year to year,” said McNair. “We try to always approach each game, regardless of the team, with the same mindset that we need to control what happens on our side of the court most importantly. I think the overall competition of the Ivy League as a whole is getting higher so we go into every game respecting our opponent.”

Tigers fall to Cornell in straight sets

On the backheel of a weekend doubleheader, Princeton looked to stay undefeated in conference play against Cornell. While all three sets went down to the wire, the Tigers fell 3–0 to the Big Red team who ended the weekend undefeated against Ivy League competition.

Although the opening set featured a back-and-forth battle with both teams jockeying for control, the Big Red took advantage in the middle stretch of the frame, propelling themselves to a five-point lead they refused to give up. While Harrington swung for a dominant seven kills in the set, including multiple in a late Princeton comeback effort, the Big Red were too much. Cornell took the opening set, 25–22.

The second set saw a similar trend, although the Orange and Black were the team that seemed to have cemented their momentum, taking a 10–7 lead. However, the Big Red proceeded to respond by taking five of the next six points in the set, putting themselves on top in the scoreboard. Although the Tigers responded with solid game, including attacking success from Harrington, Sims, and McNair, Cornell stepped up late. Facing a 22–20 deficit, the Big Red closed the set with a 5–1 run and capped off a 25–23 second set victory.

Heading into the third frame, Princeton knew they needed to find answers fast. McNair, Harrington, and Burriss ignited the home crowd with early kills. Cornell, however, mirrored their first set performance with a strong middle stretch, taking a 14–10 lead. The Big Red found themselves ahead for a large portion of the set, resulting in three match points in hand at 24–21. Despite tailing, the Orange and Black rattled off four points in a row with two aces, a kill from McNair, and a defensive block. Now with a set point, the Tigers were unable to cap off an impressive run as Cornell came up clutch, going on a mini run of their own and clinching the match with a service ace to make it 27–25.

Although the Tigers fell to the Big Red in a sweep, all three sets were tight races that highlighted just how competitive Princeton can be in the race to a conference championship. The Orange and Black will host yet another pair of Ivy League games this upcoming weekend, with matchups against Yale (8–3, 2–1) at 6 p.m. on Friday and Brown (4–7, 2–1) at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Emily Ganter is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’

Lucas Nor is an associate Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.