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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Yale
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Volleyball Ends Drought Against Yale, Stands As Lone Unbeaten In Ivy League
October 09, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
If people weren't taking Princeton as a real threat in the Ivy League following last weekend's dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Penn, they need to re-evaluate now. For the third straight match, the Tigers rallied out of an early hole and won its first match over Yale since 2007 with a 3-1 victory. The win, coupled with a Dartmouth loss, leaves Princeton as the lone unbeaten in the Ivy League.
Princeton moved to 8-6 overall, 3-0 in the Ivy League, with a 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-21 victory over Yale Saturday afternoon at Dillon Gym. The Tigers had three players with double-digit kills. Sophomore Lydia Rudnick led the way again with 14 kills, while classmate Jennifer Palmquist recorded 12 kills and a .550 attack percentage.
Junior Cathryn Quinn and senior Liz McStravick had excellent performances in the middle. Quinn, who was a starter on the 2008 team that went 12-0 against everybody else but lost twice to Yale, recorded 10 kills and six blocks, while McStravick added nine kills, four blocks and hit .471 for the match. Junior setter Michaela Venuti recorded 47 assists and 11 digs, while junior Hillary Ford added a team-best 18 digs. Sydney Brombal added five kills, 13 digs and two aces in the victory.
Princeton was in early control of the match and led the opening set 23-20, but Yale scored the final five points to take the opener. This might have been a big blow to most teams, but Princeton hasn't won an opening set in any of its three Ivy matches and has played five must-win sets already in league play. The Tigers showed resolve once again, running off four points in a row midway through the second set to build a three-point lead. Another 3-0 run later allowed the Tigers to basically play sideout ball to clinch the set.
Yale held a 9-6 lead in the third game, but Venuti served Princeton to a 5-0 run to give the Tigers a two-point lead. Yale battled back and led 17-15, but Rudnick recorded three kills during a 4-0 run that gave the Tigers another two-point lead. They had that same advantage at 22-20 when McStravick scored on a kill and the Quinn-Palmquist combo followed with a block. A Yale error gave Princeton its first 2-1 lead of the Ivy League season.
The Tigers carried that momentum into the fourth set, scoring on nine of the first 12 points to open a six-point lead. Yale ultimately cut the deficit to two points, but Princeton had yet another answer. Service aces by Brombal and Quinn helped the Tigers to a 4-1 run and a 19-14 lead. That would be plenty for a set that ended with 12 sideouts in the final 13 points. A kill by Quinn gave Princeton the match and set off an excited celebration for a lineup that didn't include a single starter who had ever beaten Yale.
Princeton will look to maintain its advantage in the Ivy League next weekend when it hosts Harvard and Dartmouth at Dillon Gym. The weekend, which will be the Tigers' Dig Pink weekend to benefit cancer research, will open Friday at 7 p.m. against the Crimson. Dartmouth, which is 3-1 in the Ivy League, will take on Princeton Saturday at 4.