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Princeton University Athletics
Stretch Run
November 14, 2003 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 14, 2003
PRINCETON, N.J. - It's not supposed to be easy, but if the Princeton women's volleyball team claims a piece of the 2003 Ivy League title, it will have put together one of the more dramatic runs that Old Nassau has seen in recent years, and that run begins tonight at Dillon Gym.
Let's set the stage.
Five teams (Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown and Columbia) are out of the league race, although Harvard and Dartmouth will each have a say in who decides it. Cornell, which now has three losses, was one point away from being in fine position, but instead it must win out and hope for some major help.
That leaves Princeton and Penn, who have combined to win the last four league titles. Princeton, the 1999 and 2000 champion, heads into the weekend with losses to Penn and Yale, but still in control of its own destiny in league play. That came thanks to a dramatic weekend in the Empire State last weekend, when Princeton swept a pair of five-game matches and travel partner Penn lost a 3-2 decision to Cornell. Penn is in the best position of all, heading into its final three-match stretch with one fewer loss than Princeton and all of its remaining matches at the Palestra. The Quakers can clinch a share for the title by sweeping Dartmouth and Harvard at home this weekend, and they can clinch it outright if Princeton slips up during the stretch.
Princeton has no control of what Penn will do this weekend, but it can make sure the Ivy League finale, a Nov. 19 contest between the Tigers and Quakers at the Palestra, is crucial by taking care of business at Dillon Gym.
Friday night will feature a meeting between Princeton and the Harvard Crimson. Harvard brings the fourth-best Ivy League record to Dillon Gym (7-5), and it also knows that it took Princeton to five games before falling in Cambridge, Mass. Princeton trailed 2-1 in games, but took a tough 30-26 win in game four before cruising to a 15-9 win in the final game. Sophomore setter Jenny Senske led the Tigers with 53 assists, 15 digs, three service aces and a .417 attack percentage in that one.
Dartmouth comes to Dillon Gym Saturday at 4 p.m., where it will look to avenge a 3-1 loss in Hanover earlier this season. If the Big Green looks to hit away from freshman libero Jenny McReynolds, it would be understandable. McReynolds had a career night against Dartmouth earlier, recording 37 digs in the win. No other Princeton player has even come close to such a mark this season, and it led McReynolds to Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors.
On Monday, Columbia will come to town again. The Lions were supposed to square off against Princeton three weeks ago at Dillon Gym, but the match was postponed because the officials failed to show. The match was rescheduled, and then rescheduled again, but it was finally set for 7:30. While Columbia is 0-11 in league play, the Lions did put a major scare into Princeton's title hopes when the two met last weekend in New York City. Princeton jumped out to a 2-0 lead before faltering in the next two games. Showing its toughness, the Tigers bounced back to take the fifth game 15-10. Sophomore Lauren Grumet led the Princeton attack with 23 kills, while junior Alex Brown added 16 kills.
If all goes well for the Tigers in those three matches, they'll head south to Philadelphia on Wednesday to try and earn the 11th Ivy League title in the tenure of head coach Glenn Nelson. Penn knocked off Princeton 3-1 in the Ivy opener for both teams, but the Tigers know they played far from their best match. Princeton hit .156 in the match and made mistakes on both sides of the first two games to fall into an early 2-0 hole. It will be a tough challenge to finish the week with a win over the two-time defending champions on their floor during Senior Night.
But nothing is easy with this team.