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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Second Half Of Ivy Volleyball Season Opens With Crucial Yale Showdown
October 27, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
At the midway point of the 2010 Ivy League women's volleyball season, Princeton couldn't ask for a much better position. The Tigers share first place with Penn, and both teams are one match ahead of Yale. After this weekend, the league picture should look much clearer, as both first-place squads will play at Yale; it begins Friday when Princeton heads to New Haven for a 7:00 start.
Beyond those three teams, nobody in Ivy play has fewer than four league losses, and Columbia is the only team with fewer than five. In only one year was 10-4 good enough for first place in the Ivy League, and that was during a 2004 season when an unprecedented four teams shared the league title.
Thus, barring a surprising development over the next three and a half weeks, it looks likely that the 2010 Ivy League champion will play in the John J. Lee Amphitheater at some point this weekend. Yale has been strong there over the last three seasons; since 2007, the Bulldogs have been 21-3 at home in Ivy play and have never lost more than one league match at home. Of course, all three of those losses came to either Princeton or Penn.
Yale and Penn have each won an Ivy League title over the last two seasons, so Princeton's start might have been the most surprising one this season. Despite starting only one senior in middle Liz McStravick, the Tigers went 6-1 in the first half of the Ivy schedule and defeated both Penn and Yale along the way. Princeton's only loss came at Columbia last weekend, and that came in a 17-15 fifth set in which Princeton had one match ball. Playing marathon matches is old news to the Tigers, who are 3-1 in the league in five-set contests.
Princeton has been led this season by Lydia Rudnick, who is averaging 4.4 kills and 4.8 points per set this season. The three-time Ivy League Player of the Week has been even more impressive in league play; she leads the Ivies with 4.8 kills and 5.2 kills in league matches, and she ranks in the Top 10 in hitting percentage (.271).
A pair of juniors are also highly ranked in Ivy League matches. Setter Michaela Venuti leads the league with 11.3 assists per set, and she has guided Princeton to Top-3 rankings in both hitting percentage (third, .225) and kills (third, 13.6). Cathryn Quinn, a three-year starter for Princeton, ranks fifth in the league with 1.1 blocks per set and is second on Princeton with 2.4 kills per set. Sophomore Jennifer Palmquist also averages 2.4 kills, while McStravick leads the team with a .265 attack percentage.
A pair of versatile freshmen have shared the responsibility as the second outside hitter, and both have played key roles in Ivy League wins. Chelsea Parker, whose late hitting contributions helped Princeton to a comeback win over Brown, is the fourth Princeton player averaging more than two kills per set, while Sydney Brombal, who had the match-winning kill in the fifth set against Harvard, has been more effective in both digs and blocks.
While both the Princeton-Yale and Penn-Yale matches will draw the most interest, neither of the first-place Ivy teams can afford to overlook Brown. The Bears are 1-7 in Ivy play, but three of their losses went the distance, including solid efforts against both Princeton and Yale. In a league season where three teams could easily be decided by one match, there won't be any unimportant nights this season.