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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Harvard
Players Mentioned
Volleyball Rally Falls Short In 3-2 Loss At Harvard
November 14, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
The Princeton women's volleyball team rallied from an 0-2 hole and was within three points of a season sweep against Harvard, but the Crimson held off its guests for a tight 3-2 win on Senior Night in Cambridge. Junior Cathryn Quinn had one of the best matches of her career, recorded 23 kills, eight blocks and a .408 attack percentage.
The Tigers let the opening set slip away, despite holding leads of 21-11, 23-15 and 24-18. Harvard won the final eight points of the set on the serve of Taylor Doctor to stun Princeton 26-24. That momentum carried well into the second set, as Harvard opened with an 11-3 run and ultimately held on for a 25-21 win. Doctor served the Crimson on an early 4-0 run to give Harvard a lead it wouldn't relinquish in the set.
Princeton knew it needed a quick spark in the third, and the Tigers opened with seven of the first eight points. Chelsea Parker served Princeton to a 4-0 run, which included a kill and two blocks by Quinn. This time, the big edge wouldn't go away, and Princeton cut its deficit in half with a 25-14 victory. The fourth set would be close throughout, but a late 3-0 run for Princeton opened a 24-21 lead. Quinn finished the set with a kill to even the match at 2-2; the first Princeton-Harvard match also went five sets, with the host Tigers winning 17-15.
This fifth set would be another tight one, but Harvard was the one standing at the end. After a kill by Michaela Venuti evened the set at 12, Harvard scored the final three to take the match.
While Quinn was Princeton's top hitter in the match, sophomore Lydia Rudnick was strong once again with 18 kills, nine digs and three blocks. Venuti paced the offense with 50 kills, while CC Lobben and Hillary Ford shared the main defensive responsibilities with a combined 35 digs. Senior Liz McStravick recorded three kills in four swings, while sophomore Jennifer Palmquist added nine kills and hit .381.
Princeton will conclude its season Wednesday at 7 with its own Senior Night. The match will have Ivy League championship implications, though not the ones the Tigers originally hoped for. Yale clinched at least a share of the Ivy League title with a 12-2 league mark, while Penn currently stands at 11-2. A Quaker win Wednesday would earn Penn a share of the league title, while a Princeton win would clinch the title outright for Yale.