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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
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Dartmouth
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Volleyball Rallies Past Dartmouth, Remains Two Up In Ivy Race
November 02, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
It wasn't a pretty start for the Princeton women's volleyball team Friday night, but the streaking Tigers rode a career effort from Parker Henritze to a 3-1 victory over the Dartmouth Big Green. The win, No. 558 in the illustrious career of head coach Glenn Nelson, moves Princeton to 18-3 overall and 10-0 in the Ivy League.
The Tigers, who trailed 12-4 in the opening game, stayed perfect at Dillon Gym with a 28-30, 30-25, 30-27, 30-24 victory over Dartmouth, which was eliminated from the Ivy League race with the loss. Princeton will conclude the home portion of its schedule Saturday at 4 p.m. against Harvard, which led Penn by a game and a 29-26 edge in the second game before falling 3-1 Friday night at The Palestra. Princeton defeated Harvard 3-0 in Cambridge earlier this season. A win would mean Princeton would need one victory in the final three matches to clinch a share of its 14th Ivy League title and two victories to clinch an outright title and its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2001.
"Coming home, we definitely had a lot of adrenaline at the start," said Henritze, who posted a 34-kill, 16-dig effort while hitting a dazzling .406 in the match. "With the big crowd and everything, I think it took us a little time to settle in. We never gave up in that first game, but I think we knew we needed to play better and gain some momentum heading into the second game."
Princeton chipped away throughout the first game, and a kill from Sheena Donohue got the Tigers to within one point late. Donohue, who finished with 26 kills and 12 digs, cut the deficit to one at 28-27, but the Big Green managed two straight sideouts to win 30-28.
The Big Green actually took an early lead in the second game, but Princeton never let it get out of hand. A quick run on the serve of Jenny McReynolds, who led all players with 21 digs, got Princeton back even at 9, and a later service run by Bailey Robinson opened an 18-13 lead for Princeton. Robinson, who leads the Ivy League in assists by more than two per game over any other setter, recorded 82 assists in the win. Princeton pulled out the game on a combo block from Kelli Grobe and Lindsey Ensign. Grobe was a dynamic hitter early and was a critical force in Princeton getting back into the first game, and she led Princeton with six blocks to go along with 14 kills. Ensign, the Ivy League leader in hitting percentage, was the major focus of the Big Green defense. Despite seeing two blockers almost everywhere she went, the junior managed 12 kills and five blocks in the win.
Princeton went ahead early in the third game, but a feisty Dartmouth squad rallied to take a 26-25 lead late. Kills by Henritze and Donohue evened the score at 27, and a Donohue ace gave the Tigers a 28-27 lead. Grobe gave Princeton a two-point lead, and a Dartmouth hitting error gave Princeton the 30-27 win. Late service runs by McReynolds and Sasha Sadrai in the fourth game gave Princeton a comfortable 30-24 win in the fourth and final game.
Besides keeping Princeton two up in the Ivy League, the win moves Nelson one behind longtime softball coach Cindy Cohen on the all-time wins list for any head coach at Princeton. If he breaks the record this season, he will do it as the head coach of an Ivy League champion.