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Princeton University Athletics
Friday, November 30
Queens, N.Y.
6 p.m.
Princeton University
1
vs
3
Delaware
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
Volleyball Falls 3-1 To Athletic Delaware Squad In NCAA First Round
November 30, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
The magical season of the Princeton women's volleyball team, which featured the Ivy League's first 14-0 season, ended Friday night with a 3-1 loss to Delaware in the first round of the NCAA tournament. A pair of close games, which always seemed to go Princeton's way throughout its historic Ivy League run, went Delaware's way in a 24-30, 32-30, 30-27, 30-22 victory Friday night at St. John's.
"Their size was definitely a factor, and they probably jumped a little higher than us," said Princeton head coach Glenn Nelson, who set the all-time Princeton win record this season. "That's volleyball. We were winning close games all season, but games two and three really hurt us. I give Delaware credit, they were better defensively than I thought they would be."
Princeton's big three of Lindsey Ensign, Sheena Donohue and Parker Henritze combined for 53 of Princeton's 59 kills, but the Tigers had to work hard for seemingly every point they won. Princeton hit .132 in the match, well below its season average of .261, and couldn't put away a pair of game balls which would have given it a 2-0 lead. Ensign had a team-high 19 kills and six blocks for Princeton, while both Henritze (17 kills, 16 digs) and Donohue (17 kills, 14 digs) recorded double-doubles for the Tigers. Junior setter Bailey Robinson, the NCAA leader in assists, recorded a double-double on her own with 51 assists and 17 digs, while senior libero Jenny McReynolds recorded 31 digs for the Tigers in the final match of her brilliant career.
Delaware had four players with double-digit kills, including team leader Kelly Gibson, who had the match of the night with 19 kills, 20 digs and a pair of aces. Senior libero Stephanie Barry recorded 35 digs for the Blue Hens, while senior setter Megan Welch added 51 assists.
Princeton sprinted out of the gates and claimed the first seven points of the match. Following an Ensign kill, she and Henritze combined for consecutive combo blocks. A Delaware error and a service ace by Sasha Sadrai moved the lead to 5-0, and a solo block by Ensign moved the lead to 6-0 and forced a Blue Hen timeout. It wasn't until a block error by Ensign that Delaware got on the board, but the Blue Hens did a good job at the net to cut into the deficit. Consecutive blocks got the score to 9-6, but the Ivy League champions responded with a 4-0, including three points off the serve of Rachel Cocalis.
Princeton maintained a lead throughout the middle part of the game and built it to a six-point advantage (23-17) on an ace by Cocalis. A back-row kill from Henritze and a kill by Grobe moved the lead to seven point, and Ensign's eighth kill of the opener gave the Tigers a 30-24 win, Princeton's first ever in the NCAA tournament. It was the 20th time this season that Princeton won the first game, and the Tigers had won each of the last 18 matches after a game one victory.
Delaware came out much stronger in the second game and both teams spent the first half of the game alternating small leads. Kelly Gibson's kill gave Delaware a 15-11 lead heading into an official timeout, but a kill by Henritze and a Blue Hen error aided a 3-0 run that got Princeton back to within one point. Donohue, Princeton's best hitter in the second game, killed one off a Blue Hen tip to even the score at 20-20. Delaware built another lead, and this time it was a Sadrai ace that evened the score at 24. Princeton finally grabbed the lead on a Walsh error, and it gave the Tigers an improbable game point. After trailing 27-25, Princeton won four of five points to finally grab a 29-28 lead, but Walsh came back with kills on back-to-back game points. Megan Welch put the advantage back on Delaware's side with an ace at 30-30, and a combo block by Erickson and Walsh gave Delaware the 32-30 win.
The Blue Hens grabbed the early edge in the third game and built it to a 14-10 lead on consecutive blocks. A Walsh kill gave Delaware a 15-10 heading into the official timeout, and it would grow to a 17-10 edge until Delaware had a service error. That lead was 25-19 when two things happened: Sadrai got on a service run that put Princeton back within three points, and two buses full of raucous Princeton students arrived at Carnesecca Arena. The combination totally shifted the momentum and actually helped the Tigers pull back even at 26. Delaware reclaimed a 28-26 lead and ultimately pulled out a 30-27 win on a Walsh kill, but the Tigers at least went into the fourth game with some positive energy.
To its credit, Delaware didn't let that momentum carry into the fourth game. The game was the tightest of all for the first 20 points, with both teams mostly trading sideouts en route to a 10-all tie.That was when Delaware, led by the strong serving of Gibson, went on a 4-0 run to grab the first four-point lead of the game. The Blue Hens led 20-15 when Gibson killed one off the block and Ensign hit one wide, forcing Nelson to call a timeout. Grobe and Ensign came up with back-to-back kills, and Delaware added an error to cut its lead to 22-18. This time, it was Delaware head coach Bonnie Kelly who had to call a timeout, and Gibson came out of it with her 19th kill of the match. The Blue Hens put together one final strong one to clinch a 30-22 victory.
The loss might have been a disappointing end, but it does nothing to blemish a terrific season. Princeton won 20 straight matches, including all 14 in the Ivy League, and placed five players on the all-league team. The Tigers return six starters from the 2007 team, including four All-Ivy players, and will be looking to take one more shot at the NCAA tournament.
"Their size was definitely a factor, and they probably jumped a little higher than us," said Princeton head coach Glenn Nelson, who set the all-time Princeton win record this season. "That's volleyball. We were winning close games all season, but games two and three really hurt us. I give Delaware credit, they were better defensively than I thought they would be."
Princeton's big three of Lindsey Ensign, Sheena Donohue and Parker Henritze combined for 53 of Princeton's 59 kills, but the Tigers had to work hard for seemingly every point they won. Princeton hit .132 in the match, well below its season average of .261, and couldn't put away a pair of game balls which would have given it a 2-0 lead. Ensign had a team-high 19 kills and six blocks for Princeton, while both Henritze (17 kills, 16 digs) and Donohue (17 kills, 14 digs) recorded double-doubles for the Tigers. Junior setter Bailey Robinson, the NCAA leader in assists, recorded a double-double on her own with 51 assists and 17 digs, while senior libero Jenny McReynolds recorded 31 digs for the Tigers in the final match of her brilliant career.
Delaware had four players with double-digit kills, including team leader Kelly Gibson, who had the match of the night with 19 kills, 20 digs and a pair of aces. Senior libero Stephanie Barry recorded 35 digs for the Blue Hens, while senior setter Megan Welch added 51 assists.
Princeton sprinted out of the gates and claimed the first seven points of the match. Following an Ensign kill, she and Henritze combined for consecutive combo blocks. A Delaware error and a service ace by Sasha Sadrai moved the lead to 5-0, and a solo block by Ensign moved the lead to 6-0 and forced a Blue Hen timeout. It wasn't until a block error by Ensign that Delaware got on the board, but the Blue Hens did a good job at the net to cut into the deficit. Consecutive blocks got the score to 9-6, but the Ivy League champions responded with a 4-0, including three points off the serve of Rachel Cocalis.
Princeton maintained a lead throughout the middle part of the game and built it to a six-point advantage (23-17) on an ace by Cocalis. A back-row kill from Henritze and a kill by Grobe moved the lead to seven point, and Ensign's eighth kill of the opener gave the Tigers a 30-24 win, Princeton's first ever in the NCAA tournament. It was the 20th time this season that Princeton won the first game, and the Tigers had won each of the last 18 matches after a game one victory.
Delaware came out much stronger in the second game and both teams spent the first half of the game alternating small leads. Kelly Gibson's kill gave Delaware a 15-11 lead heading into an official timeout, but a kill by Henritze and a Blue Hen error aided a 3-0 run that got Princeton back to within one point. Donohue, Princeton's best hitter in the second game, killed one off a Blue Hen tip to even the score at 20-20. Delaware built another lead, and this time it was a Sadrai ace that evened the score at 24. Princeton finally grabbed the lead on a Walsh error, and it gave the Tigers an improbable game point. After trailing 27-25, Princeton won four of five points to finally grab a 29-28 lead, but Walsh came back with kills on back-to-back game points. Megan Welch put the advantage back on Delaware's side with an ace at 30-30, and a combo block by Erickson and Walsh gave Delaware the 32-30 win.
The Blue Hens grabbed the early edge in the third game and built it to a 14-10 lead on consecutive blocks. A Walsh kill gave Delaware a 15-10 heading into the official timeout, and it would grow to a 17-10 edge until Delaware had a service error. That lead was 25-19 when two things happened: Sadrai got on a service run that put Princeton back within three points, and two buses full of raucous Princeton students arrived at Carnesecca Arena. The combination totally shifted the momentum and actually helped the Tigers pull back even at 26. Delaware reclaimed a 28-26 lead and ultimately pulled out a 30-27 win on a Walsh kill, but the Tigers at least went into the fourth game with some positive energy.
To its credit, Delaware didn't let that momentum carry into the fourth game. The game was the tightest of all for the first 20 points, with both teams mostly trading sideouts en route to a 10-all tie.That was when Delaware, led by the strong serving of Gibson, went on a 4-0 run to grab the first four-point lead of the game. The Blue Hens led 20-15 when Gibson killed one off the block and Ensign hit one wide, forcing Nelson to call a timeout. Grobe and Ensign came up with back-to-back kills, and Delaware added an error to cut its lead to 22-18. This time, it was Delaware head coach Bonnie Kelly who had to call a timeout, and Gibson came out of it with her 19th kill of the match. The Blue Hens put together one final strong one to clinch a 30-22 victory.
The loss might have been a disappointing end, but it does nothing to blemish a terrific season. Princeton won 20 straight matches, including all 14 in the Ivy League, and placed five players on the all-league team. The Tigers return six starters from the 2007 team, including four All-Ivy players, and will be looking to take one more shot at the NCAA tournament.
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