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Princeton University
Seton Hall
Players Mentioned
Volleyball Rallies Past Big East Foe Seton Hall For First Win Of 2009
September 10, 2009 | Women's Volleyball
A strong finish Wednesday night gave both the Princeton women's volleyball team and its new head coach Jolie Ward an important first victory of the 2009 season. Senior co-captain Sheena Donohue recorded 19 kills to lead Princeton past Big East rival Seton Hall in the Tigers' home opener.
Donohue added 13 digs with her team-best 19 kills, although two other Princeton players recorded double-doubles. In their first career matches inside Dillon Gym, freshman setter Molly Bagshaw recorded 43 assists and 16 digs, while classmate Lydia Rudnick recorded 12 kills and 12 digs. Three other Princeton players had at least six kills, including sophomore middle Cathryn Quinn, who recorded six kills and four blocks while hitting .333.
Princeton, coming off an 0-3 performance at the season-opening Delaware Invitational, got a much-needed win against an athletic Seton Hall team that made the Tigers work for every point.
"One of the most important things that came out of tonight is that we can gain confidence that this group can win," said Ward, who has more than 200 career victories but gained her first at Princeton Wednesday night. "There were glimpses of what I believe we can look like. We need to stop the big ebbs and flows. If we play at a high level most of the time, we can deal with the dropoffs that aren't so severe."
One dropoff Wednesday night came early in the third set. After splitting the opening two sets, Princeton fell behind 5-1 and threatened to fall in too deep a hole. Ward, remembering a similar start against Rutgers that ultimately ignited a three-set losing streak, called timeout to refocus the team. Princeton would go on a 37-14 run from that point, winning the third set and building a nearly insurmountable lead in the fourth set.
Princeton will look to build on the momentum this weekend when it heads to Philadelphia to compete in the Villanova Tournament.