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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
JUNIATA
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Players Mentioned
Volleyball Brings Winning Show Home, Sweeps Former Unbeaten To Move To 11-0
October 01, 2006 | Women's Volleyball
In front of a packed and enthusiastic crowd at Dillon Gym, the Princeton women's volleyball won a showdown of unbeatens by topping Division III power Juniata. The Tigers, who have excelled this season with a starting lineup filled with underclassmen, improved to 11-0 with the win and completed a perfect nonleague season. If Princeton plays another team outside the Ivy League in 2006, it will come in the NCAA tournament.
While Princeton won't enter this Ivy season as the favorite, the Tigers' early start had to earn the recognition of the rest of the league.
"We've got some talent, but they're young and they don't always understand the way we play," head coach Glenn Nelson said after the hard-fought win over Juniata, who fell to 20-1 with the loss. "We're not perfect, but we're playing well. I still think we're a little undersized, but we're quick and we play hard. I think we're also a pretty good serving team, which has helped this year."
What has also helped has been the performance of freshman Sheena Donohue, the current Ivy League Rookie of the Week. In her first home match, she led Princeton with 14 kills and 11 digs, team-highs in both categories. Fellow outside hitter Parker Henritze, the defending Ivy League Rookie of the Year, added 12 kills and nine digs in the win. At 30-30 in the first game, Henritze came up with a kill to give Princeton a game ball, and sophomore Bailey Robinson, who also made her home debut after losing her freshman season to injury, blocked a ball to earn the 32-30 win.
Princeton finished the match with 30-27 and 30-25 game wins. Robinson had a match-high 38 assists, including 13 to longtime teammate Lindsay Ensign.
"Bailey has picked up our offense quickly," Nelson said. "She and Lindsay really work well together because they've been playing together forever."
Princeton will open its first full Ivy weekend next Friday at Dartmouth. The match will begin at 7 p.m.