Women's Volleyball: Team tests Ivy’s top record on the road

Coming off of a league-best winning streak of four matches, Princeton will have some momentum on the road this weekend and next weekend. In nine days, the Tigers will face four Ivy League opponents: Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown and Yale. Earlier this season, Princeton hosted these four teams in Dillon Gymnasium and recorded four victories. However, the team knows that home-court advantage is very important in the Ivy League.

“We are definitely in for a tough weekend, playing Harvard and Dartmouth at their gym,” junior outside hitter Lydia Rudnick said. “Being in your home gym is a big advantage because you are in an environment you are used to, and having your fans backing you up is amazing.”

When Big Green traveled down to Princeton during the second week of league play, the two teams traded the opening four sets, requiring a fifth. Two strong three-point runs came at crucial moments in the middle and at the end of the set to propel Princeton to a third Ivy League victory. On Friday night, Dartmouth will get its chance at revenge on its home court. The match offers the opportunity to watch the league’s top three hitters in kills per set compete against one another. Rudnick tops the standings at 3.72, with Dartmouth outside hitter Madeline Baird right behind her and Princeton’s Cathryn Quinn, a senior middle blocker, in third.

The last time Princeton and Harvard met, they also battled for five sets before the Tigers edged the Crimson 3-2. Princeton grabbed the first two sets with relative ease, but the visitors rallied and took the next two sets. In the decisive fifth game, the Tigers finished with conviction, recording five straight points to pull away and secure a victory. Currently, the Crimson leads the Ivy League in service aces per set. The team’s strong defense is led by senior libero Christine Wu, who is averaging 5.51 digs per set, the second best in the league.

“These are going to be two of our most important matches because there are only a couple more weeks left, and the Ivy League can be decided by one match,” Rudnick said. “We have prepared a lot for both Harvard and Dartmouth because last year we lost to both of them at their gyms, and we don’t want that to happen again.”

“We expect both Harvard and Dartmouth to play really well and want to beat us because we are at the top of the league,” Quinn said. “We have practiced well this week and scouted both teams. We will need to play our best both nights to beat them at their homes.”

A week from Friday, the Tigers will be on the road again for another weekend doubleheader, stopping first at Brown. Statistically, Brown does not appear to be a very tough opponent, ranking in the league’s bottom two in hitting percentage, assists, kills, blocks and digs. When Princeton and Brown played earlier in the season, the Tigers swept 3-0, but the first two sets were only decided by two-point margins.

The match that will potentially decide who wins the Ivy League will be played on Nov. 5 as Princeton finishes a five-game road trip at Yale. The last encounter between these two rivals generated Yale’s first and only league loss by a 3-1 score. Rudnick and Quinn were an indomitable duo that night, combining for 46 kills in one of Princeton’s best team performances. After the two teams split the first two sets 25-23, the Tigers stayed strong and grabbed the next two games by idential 25-20 scores, with especially impressive runs at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth sets. The Bulldogs, with a strong front line, are the current league leaders in hitting percentage, assists and kills per set.

“Each of these matches are key to continue our chance at the Ivy championship,” Quinn said. “The Ivy championship comes down to record, so it is vital that we take each and every match very seriously from here till the end of the season.”