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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Columbia
498, 499... Nelson Becomes Third Princeton Coach With 500 Wins
November 05, 2004 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 5, 2004
Box Score
PRINCETON - Princeton head coach Glenn Nelson became the third coach in school history to win 500 games when his women's volleyball team swept Columbia 3-0 Friday night. The Tigers stayed right in the Ivy chase with the win.
Columbia, which came into the match with a 1-9 Ivy League record, took an early lead in the first game before Princeton assumed complete control of the match. A 6-0 run on the serve of Lauren Loban put Princeton back ahead, and the Tigers never trailed past the 10-point mark of any game the rest of the way.
Lauren Grumet led Princeton with 21 kills while hitting .300 for the match, while Alex Brown added nine kills with only two errors. Jenny Senske record 45 assists while Jenny McReynolds led with 22 digs. The entire roster got on the court for Princeton, which will face Cornell in a must-win situation Saturday at 4 p.m. "We have to run the table the rest of the way," Nelson said after a postgame celebration that included the entire team and many fans donning shirts to commemorate the milestone win. "We still control our own destiny, but there is no room to drop a match."
Wins in Princeton's final four matches would clinch at least a share of Nelson's 11th Ivy League title. He now has a career record of 500-209 (.705), and trails only softball coach Cindy Cohen (564) and men's basketball coach Pete Carril (514) in the win column at Princeton.
"The thing I remember most about Glenn was his passion for the sport and his team," Cohen said. "He told me when I retired that he was glad I did so he could catch up to me."
"Glenn's 'beach boy insouciance' mask a competitive fire," director of athletics Gary Walters '67 said. "He has carved a unique place in Princeton athletic history, both for his success and the way he achieved it. We hope the next 500 come as quickly as the previous 500."
His players this year certainly are just as impressed.
"It means a lot to us to be part of it," Brown, a team co-captain, said. "I shouldn't say this, but he's been coach here longer than we've all been alive. I haven't even played in 500 matches in my life. We really wanted to win this for him."
Nelson has coached three Ivy League Players of the Year [Kristi Hakman (1990), Kristin Spataro (1995) and Sabrina King (1999)] and four Ivy League Rookies of the Year: [Melanie Hunter (1991), Ayesha Attoh (1994), Michelle Buffum (1999) and Kellie Cramm (2000)].