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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Volleyball Season Opens Friday With Both Enthusiasm And Questions
September 02, 2009 | Women's Volleyball
Every new season brings with it some question marks, but few have nearly as many as the 2009 Princeton women's volleyball team. Four starters are gone from last year's team, and six are gone from the 2007 Ivy League championship team; then there is the coach of the last 27 seasons, Glenn Nelson, who is enjoying his first fall of retirement.
Yes, there are unknowns.
But there are knowns too. Start with senior co-captain Sheena Donohue, a multiple-time All-Ivy selection and a starting outside hitter for the only 14-0 Ivy League championship team. Sophomores Cathryn Quinn and Hillary Ford both have a year of starting experience as well.
And then there is new head coach Jolie Ward, who has more than 200 career victories and doubled Manhattan's win total in her only season with the Jaspers last year. She may not be known to Princeton fans yet, but she has improved each program that she took over.
How well all the pieces fuse together this season is the big question, and one that will probably need all 11 pre-league matches to answer. But Ward has been impressed with the early play in camp and is hopeful that the puzzle will be closer to completion when Penn comes to Jadwin Gym on Oct. 3.
OUTSIDE HITTERS
Donohue, who joins classmate Taylor Carroll as 2009 co-captains, has been a second-team All-Ivy selection in both 2007 and 2008, but she enters this season with a new status; with the departure of former Ivy League Player of the Year Parker Henritze '09, Donohue now assumes the role of top outside hitter.
She has all the physical abilities to handle the job. An explosive jumper who hits with power, Donohue ranked seventh in the Ivy League last season with 3.34 kills per game. She also showed the ability to rise to the occasion in key situations; during a late weekend road trip last season, with no margin for error, Donohue earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors by averaging 4.4 kills and 5.4 digs in a sweep of Dartmouth and Harvard. In the latter match, a hard-fought 3-2 win in Cambridge, Donohue recorded a rare 20-20 performance (21 kills, 22 digs).
Limiting errors will be important to Donohue, whose hitting percentage dropped last season, but Ward has been extremely pleased with both the quality of her play and her leadership in the preseason.
Freshman Lydia Rudnick could make an immediate impact at the position, the way Donohue did three years ago. Rudnick is a gifted athlete who led La Costa Canyon to a 37-1 record and a CIF, state and national championship last season. Adjusting to the college game can be a tough transition, and Ward is excited to see how she fares in the opening tournaments.
Senior Rachel Cocalis gained some varsity experience last season, mostly as a server, and will need to show early signs of progress to get a more steady role in the rotation. The same holds true for junior C.C. Lobben, who only got in two matches last season.
MIDDLE BLOCKERS
Sophomore Cathryn Quinn jumped into a senior-laden lineup last season and played in 70 of the team's 74 sets. She averaged nearly 2.5 kills and .5 blocks per set in her first season, and Ward thinks she can be even better if she puts it all together. Quinn's athleticism allows the coaching staff some options, considering the depth at the middle position. She was a two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week last season and should be even more ready after a full year of varsity experience.
Junior Elizabeth McStravick earned a fair amount of varsity experience during Princeton's 2007 championship season, and she played well in her opportunities. McStravick recorded a .318 hitting percentage and averaged more than one kill per set during her time on the court, but she fell behind Quinn and All-Ivy standout Lindsey Ensign '09 in the rotation last year. She has done everything the coaching staff has asked in the preseason, and her efforts could be rewarded with a starting spot if she plays well in the September tournaments.
Princeton has two freshman middles this season, and both will have opportunities to show their level of readiness this month. Polly Korbel is a 6-1 all-state middle from San Antonio, Texas, while Jennifer Palmquist is a 6-2 middle from Newport Beach, Calif., who helped lead Newport Harbor to a Sunset League title. Both come from good backgrounds and have varying strengths, but their level of match play might be the determining factor in whether they are consistent members of the rotation.
RIGHTSIDE PLAYER
As a freshman, Taylor Carroll was fourth on the team in kills and played in the majority of matches during Princeton's 21-3 season. She averaged nearly two kills per set while also proving solid in both digs and blocks. Over the next two seasons, she fell behind Kelli Grobe '08 and Sasha Sadrai '08 and saw her playing time cut dramatically.
Now a senior co-captain, Carroll is hoping to punctuate her career with her best season. At 6-0 with plenty of athleticism, she is more than a capable hitter. She will need to pick up all of the nuances of Ward's schemes to make up for both her own inexperience and a significant amount of youth that will likely be on the court. If Carroll is ready to rise to the occasion, Princeton should have two solid hitting options almost every time they possess the ball.
This is a position that Quinn could also find time at, especially if one of the freshman middles is especially impressive in September.
SETTER
Princeton has basically used two different setters, Jenny Senske '06 and Bailey Robinson '09, for the last seven seasons. A new face will take over the position this season, and the two strongest candidates are sophomore Michaela Venuti and freshman Molly Bagshaw.
Venuti got into only two sets last season, so she doesn't have a significant advantage in experience. Furthermore, an early injury kept her out of the beginning of preseason, which allowed Bagshaw to get the majority of the experience. Bagshaw was an all-league and all-county setter from the Menlo School in Atherton, Calif., and she led her team to three Central Coast Section titles.
LIBERO
Both junior Torri Patel and sophomore Hillary Ford have had strong moments in the preseason, but Ford carries the experience of starting all of 2008 with her. As a freshman, Ford led Princeton with 4.23 digs per game and had some spectacular performances late in the season. Her willingness to go all out in preseason has impressed the coaching staff; Patel has also had some strong showings in camp, and she will look forward to showing her talent in match situations.
SCHEDULE
Princeton plays one of its most challenging schedules in years this season, beginning this weekend at the Delaware Invitational. The Tigers open play Friday at 1 p.m. against the Blue Hens, the same team that eliminated Princeton 3-1 during the 2007 NCAA tournament. Princeton plays Rutgers at 1 and Army at 5 on Saturday.
The home schedule begins Wednesday night when Big East in-state rival Seton Hall makes the trip to Dillon Gym. From there, Princeton will play in both the Villanova Classic and the West Virginia Classic before closing the non-league season at home against Juniata on Sept. 26.
Ivy League play opens Oct. 3 against Columbia; the Tigers will play reigning champion Yale on Oct. 9 in New Haven at 7 p.m. and at home Oct. 31 at 4 p.m.