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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Colgate
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Women's Volleyball Opens 2006 Season By Claiming Five-Game Thriller
September 08, 2006 | Women's Volleyball
If the first match of the 2006 women's volleyball season is any indication of how the rest of it will go, the Princeton coaches know a couple things. First of all, it's going to be a wild ride. And second, the Tiger youth is ready to handle it.
Starting mainly sophomores and freshman, along with senior libero Emily Turner, Princeton opened its season 1-0 with a 3-2 win in the opening match of the Colgate Invitational. Princeton will play twice tomorrow, opening with Siena and concluding with Canisius. The Tigers earned their tight win with game scores of 28-30, 30-25, 30-21, 27-30, 15-10.
While there were several new faces in the starting lineup, one of them wasn't Parker Henritze. The defending Ivy League Rookie of the Year killed 24 balls, recorded 16 digs and two aces and hit .273 for the match to lead the way. Classmates Lindsay Ensign and Jessica Hoffmann did the job in the middle, combining for 30 kills and 10 assisted blocks; Ensign led the offensive portion with 20 of the kills, while Hoffmann led all players with seven assisted blocks.
A fourth sophomore in the starting lineup was a new face, and she was an important one. Bailey Robinson, sister of longtime men's standout Blake Robinson, is the new setter, taking the reins from four-year starter Jenny Senske. Robinson put up strong numbers in her first match with 74 kills, and she added four assisted blocks, second most on the team.
The positive contributions came from even younger players, including Sheena Donohue, who chipped in a double-double in her first career start. Her 18 kills and 15 digs give Princeton a strong presence on the other outside. Another freshman, Taylor Carroll, killed 11 balls in four games as the rightside hitter. As a team, Princeton hit .255 for the match, although it went up impressively when the match was on the line. In the decisive fifth game, Princeton hit .444 as a team and never trailed after grabbing an early advantage.