Vball comes up short at Princeton

PRINCETON, N.J. -- After a dizzying weekend of volleyball, two very different teams remained standing in the season-ending Ivy League tournament. Princeton is inexperienced, but extremely talented and deadly on the offensive. Penn is veteran-led and plays with surgical precision, but lacks the dominant offensive player. The stage was set for Sunday's final -- power vs. finesse, youth vs. experience -- when the Tigers and Quakers faced off to determine the Ivy League championship. When all the equations were settled, Penn could not handle Princeton's offensive firepower and was defeated 5-15, 15-9, 15-12, 15-4. "Our team never quit," Penn coach Margaret Feeney said. "Princeton is an outstanding team. They were very composed. They have some really nice hitters." It is not surprising the Tigers remained composed. Not only did Princeton have home-court advantage, but Penn would have to beat Princeton twice to capture the championship due to the tournament's double-elimination format. The Quakers had previously lost to Brown. In contrast, Princeton coasted to the finals without even dropping a game. Still, Feeney's game plan was to rattle Princeton by targeting its freshman with blocks. "It worked to some extent," the coach said. What Feeney might have meant was it worked in the first game. Penn won 15 of the first 20 points from a team that did not lose more than 11 points in any game in the tournament. The Tigers scrambled as they quickly replaced one of their top freshman, Stephanie Edwards. Princeton quickly regrouped, winning Game 2 and 3 in hard-fought fashion. It was only in the fourth game when the Tigers took out their claws. The crowd, which filled the dingy Dillon Gym to capacity, became increasingly loud with chants of "Lets go Tigers," aided with orange and white pompoms and "Beat Penn" buttons. Princeton freshmen Lowen Cattalico and Ayesha Attoh listened to the crowd and responded. Cattalico had a monster kill putting Princeton up 8-4, and then she growled in satisfaction. A couple plays later, Cattalico was somehow able to surpass her previous effort with another ferocious kill, leading the Tigers to a 12-4 lead. And if Cattalico was silent on a play, then in all likelihood, Attoh was flying through the air spiking the ball down Quakers' throats. Attoh supplied the match-ending kill that finished Penn's season and dream. "Princeton elevated its play a couple of levels," junior co-captain Heather Glick said. "The first time we played them during the season, they didn't play like that." "It's very disappointing because the ultimate goal every year is to win the tournament," Feeney said. "We'll be very successful if we take our effort and skills from this tournament into August."