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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Sheena Donohue Named Ivy League Volleyball Player Of The Week, Will Lead Princeton On Championship Chase This Weekend
November 12, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
In Princeton's final road weekend of the season and with no margin for
error, junior outside hitter Sheena Donohue
played her best weekend of the season, dialing in with two huge
double-double performances to earn the Ivy League Volleyball Player of
the Week honor. If she can lead Princeton to two more wins this
weekend, the Tigers will have clinched their 15th Ivy League title and,
possibly, a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Donohue led the Tigers in both kills (4.38 per set) and digs (5.38) and led all non-middles with a .325 attack percentage, while recording at least 20 digs in both matches. Friday night at Dartmouth, Donohue registered 14 kills and 21 digs in a 3-0 sweep. She came back Satiurday night and led Princeton to a thrilling five-set victory after falling two sets down at Harvard with a 21-kill, 22-dig showing in a 3-2 win against the Crimson.
The win, along with sweeps by Yale and Penn, sets up a very intriguing final weekend of the Ivy League season. Yale comes in at 11-1 in the league, having lost only to Penn, and holds a half-game edge over Princeton and a 2.5-game edge over Penn. Yale travels south this weekend for the Penn-Princeton weekend, beginning Friday at Penn. While Yale's regular season ends Saturday, Penn and Princeton still have one more match to play -- against each other. The two local rivals will meet Wednesday, Nov. 19 at Dillon Gym for a 7 p.m. start.
Here is the weekend schedule for the three teams involved in the championship race and all of the possible weekend scenarios.
FRIDAYBrown (4-8 Ivy) at Princeton (10-1), 7 p.m.Yale (11-1) at Penn (8-3), 7 p.m. SATURDAYYale at Princeton, 4 p.m.Brown at Penn, 4 p.m.SCENARIO 1: Princeton and Penn both win Friday.
First of all, if Princeton wins Friday, Penn is eliminated from championship contention. In this situation, Princeton would be able to clinch the Ivy League title and the NCAA tournament berth by beating Yale Saturday. If Yale won, the Bulldogs would clinch at least a share of the title, and Princeton would need to beat Penn next Wednesday to clinch a share of the title. The two teams would then play one match for the NCAA berth, likely Nov. 22 at Yale.
SCENARIO 2: Princeton and Yale both win Friday.
Penn would be eliminated. Yale would clinch the Ivy League title and the NCAA berth by beating Princeton Saturday. If the Tigers won Saturday, Princeton would clinch a share of the Ivy League title and would be able to clinch the outright title and the NCAA berth by beating Penn next Wednesday. A loss against Penn would force the playoff, although the host team would be determined by a series of tiebreakers.
SCENARIO 3: Brown and Penn both win Friday.
This is the optimal scenario for the Quakers. In this situation, Yale would still be able to clinch the Ivy League title and the NCAA berth by beating Princeton Saturday. If Princeton won, it would clinch a share of the league title but still need to beat Penn for the outright title and NCAA berth. A Princeton win over Yale and a Penn win over Princeton would lead to a three-way tie.
SCENARIO 4: Brown and Yale both win Friday.
Penn would be eliminated and Yale would already have a share of the Ivy League title. Princeton would need to win Saturday and against Penn Wednesday to clinch a share of the title and force a one-match playoff, likely Nov. 22 at Princeton.