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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Pennsylvania
Volleyball Knocks Off Three-Time Champ Penn In Key Road Win
October 01, 2004 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 1, 2004
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - The score was the same, but the result was very different. After three years of falling 3-1 to Penn in the Ivy League opener, the Princeton women's volleyball team rallied for thrilling wins in the opening two games and held on for a 3-1 victory at the Palestra.
"This was a huge win for us," senior middle blocker Alex Brown said. "Maturity was key. We have a lot of experience on the court, and we were able to pull out those games."
Penn held 26-22 leads in both of the first two games, but Princeton rallied to win both. A 4-0 run got Princeton even, and then points from Lauren Grumet and Lauren Loban evened the score at 28-28. A kill from Brown saved a game ball at 28-29, and Princeton would gain the advantage on the next point. A pair of kills by Grumet at the end were enough for the 32-30 win. In the second game, Princeton saved three game balls in a 31-29 win. The first came on a Penn error, and the second was on a kill on the right sideline by senior opposite player Ashley Weber. Senior Lauren Loban, the only Tiger that didn't start against Penn last November when the Quakers topped Princeton 3-1 at the Palestra to win the Ivy title, recorded three straight kills to give Princeton a 32-31 lead. Brown clinched the third game with a solo block and gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead in games.
Penn rallied in the third game and won a tight 31-29 decision on a block, but Princeton wouldn't allow the fourth game to be another thriller. The Tigers took an early lead and built on it midway through the game. Despite a late rally that got Penn within four points on two occasions, a service error ended the match and a six-match winning streak for Penn over Princeton. The Tigers clinched the match with a 30-25 win.
Technical difficulties didn't allow the stats to be printed after the match, but head coach Glenn Nelson, now seven victories away from being the third coach in school history with 500 wins, knew what the key was.
"I think the stats will show that we dug more balls," Nelson said. "We really gave ourselves so many chances to come back and win points. The match could have gone either way, and our experience helped. We had three seniors on the court, and they all played well."
It is the first time that the Princeton women's volleyball team started 1-0 in the league since it went into round-robin format in 2001. Princeton will play a nonleague match at home Saturday when it faces Division III powerhouse Juniata at 4 p.m.
Tonight's box score will be online when it is available.