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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Columbia
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Players Mentioned
Columbia Sweeps Volleyball Team, Now Hopes To Help Tigers In Ivy Race
November 06, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
The Princeton women's volleyball team lost control of its destiny in the Ivy League race at the hands of a resilient Columbia squad. Now the Tigers will rely on those same hands to get them right back into position heading into the final weekend of the season.
Princeton (13-9, 8-3) dropped its first home Ivy League match of the season 3-1 to Columbia Saturday afternoon. The 29-27, 25-21, 20-25, 25-22 victory gave the Lions a season sweep over the Tigers, who are 7-1 against the rest of the league this season. Princeton will head north for its final road matches of the season next weekend, beginning Friday night at Dartmouth and concluding Saturday at Harvard.
And while the Tigers certainly need to take care of their own business, they will be looking for Columbia to extend a helping hand. Yale defeated Harvard 3-0 Friday night to move to 10-2 in league play, 1.5 games ahead of Princeton. Penn swept Cornell to move to 9-2, but the Tigers will have one match remaining with Penn. For Princeton to have any shot at the Ivy title, it will need at least one Yale loss next weekend, and the Tigers are well aware of how tough a home team Columbia has been this season.
Lydia Rudnick, who leads the Ivy League in kills, had another impressive performance with 23 kills and a .262 attack percentage. She added nine digs, two assists and a service ace, while junior Cathryn Quinn hit .357 with 12 kills and four blocks. Freshman Chelsea Parker came off the bench to provide a spark on both ends of the court; she recorded eight kills and 14 digs and served Princeton to the third-set win.
Senior C.C. Lobben led the defense with 21 digs, while junior Michaela Venuti and Parker both recorded 14 digs apiece. Venuti added 46 assists for an offense that hit .194 for the match. Both Parker and Hillary Ford had two service aces apiece.
In the first loss to Columbia, a 3-2 match in New York City, Princeton had one match ball in the fifth game before ultimately losing the final three points of a 17-15 defeat. On Saturday, it was the first set that slipped through Princeton's fingers, and it would prove to be costly. After rallying from a 24-22 hole, Princeton had three set balls, but the Lions recorded kills on all three. An attack error gave Columbia its third set ball, and Christina Campbell finished it off with a kill for a 29-27 win.
Columbia, which lost a 3-2 marathon Friday night at Penn, used the win as a source of energy and slowly built a lead through the second set. A 7-2 run midway through the set gave Columbia control in a 25-21 win, but Princeton battled back from a 6-0 hole for a 25-20 victory in the third. The Tigers have been battle-tested all season and have shown plenty of resilience for a young lineup, including several comeback victories.
Unfortunately, another slow start would prove to be too much for the Tigers, who were down 11-5 after two kills by Madeline Rumer and a block. Princeton tried one last run, winning six of eight points late, but Monique Roberts ended the match with her 10th kill.