Women's Volleyball Weekly Release - Week 10

Dartmouth's Annie Villanueva and Alex Schoenberger and Princeton's Ginny Willis

Updated Stats (PDF)

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Ivy League women's volleyball is coming down to the wire with only two weekends of conference play remaining and just one game in the loss column separating each of the top three teams.

Yale enters the next-to-last Ivy weekend with a 9-1 League mark (15-5 overall) closely followed by Princeton (15-7, 8-2 Ivy) and Columbia (13-7, 7-3). The Bulldogs can take the next step in claiming a piece of a third Ivy title in four years in their Saturday showdown with the Tigers. Princeton defeated Yale 3-1 on Oct. 14 and is looking to regain possesion of the Ivy trophy for the first time since 2007. First, Yale has a Friday night date with face Penn (7-13, 3-7), which ended a five-match losing skid at Dartmouth this past Saturday.

Columbia has an important home back-to-back this weekend with Harvard, sitting in fifth in the the standings at 4-6 (11-9 over), Friday night and Dartmouth, third going into the weekend at 5-5 (13-8 overall), Saturday evening.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dartmouth senior middle blocker Annie Villanueva (Santa Barbara, Calif.) provided a strong defense for the Big Green with 10 total blocks (1.11 blocks per set) and hit .400 with double-digit kills in a weekend split against Princeton and Penn.

In the win over Princeton, Villanueva connected on 14 kills, hitting .542, with five block assists. Against Penn, she posted 12 kills and added another five block assists. For the week, Villanueva finished with a 2.89 kills per set average. She tops the League and ranks 28th nationally in hitting percentage at .368.

CO-ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
Dartmouth freshman outside hitter Alex Schoenberger (Corte Madera, Calif.) was the difference for the Big Green in the win over Princeton. Schoenberger did not enter the match until the third set with the match tied, 1-1. From there, she helped Dartmouth win the next two sets with 11 kills (.500 hitting percentage), one service ace, three digs and four block assists. Against Penn the next night, she led the team in kills with 18 and block assists with six, hitting .359 in the match. For the week, Schoenberger averaged 4.14 kills per set (29 kills) and 1.43 blocks per set (10 total blocks) and hit .407 on 59 attempts.

Princeton freshman setter Ginny Willis (Tampa, Fla.) posted her second match with 50 or more assists this season in the Tigers' win over Harvard. Willis led Princeton to victory with 52 assists, helping her team hit .287, 13 digs adding a block assist. The previous night against Dartmouth, she totaled 38 assists adding five digs, two kills and a block assist. Willis ranks second in the Ivy League in assists per set at 10.05.

HONOR ROLL
Heather Braunagel, Columbia, Junior, Middle Blocker (Trumbull, Conn.)
.368 hitting pct., 2.67 K/S, 1 BS, 5 BA - Team: 1-1

Caitlin Brenton, Columbia, Freshman, Middle Blocker (San Jose, Calif.)
.297 hitting pct., 2.43 K/S, 3 BA - Team: 1-1

Taylor Docter, Harvard, Junior, Outside Hitter (Los Altos, Calif.)
.215 hitting pct., 4.00 K/S, 2.88 D/S, 2 BA - Team: 1-1

Allie Frapier, Yale, Freshman, Outside Hitter (San Mateo, Calif.)
.311 hitting pct., 4.29 K/S, 2.71 D/S, 1 BS - Team: 2-0

Megan Gaughn, Columbia, Junior, Outside Hitter (Winter Park, Fla.)
.265 hitting pct., 4.00 K/S, 3.71 D/S, 2 SA - Team: 1-1

Risa Ka'awa, Cornell, Senior, Libero (Honolulu, Hawaii)
7.86 D/S, 7 ASST - Team: 1-1

Erica Reetz, Yale, Sophomore, Outside Hitter (Thiensville, Wis.)
.326 hitting pct., 2.57 K/S, 3.86 D/S, 4 BA - Team: 2-0

Alexandra Rieckhoff, Brown, Sophomore, Setter (Laguna Beach, Calif.)
9.57 A/S, 3.14 D/S, 1 SA, 2 BA - Team: 0-2

Lydia Rudnick, Princeton, Sophomore, Outside Hitter (Encinitas, Calif.)
.239 hitting pct., 4.38 K/S, 3.88 D/S, 3 BS, 4 BA - Team: 1-1

UPCOMING SCHEDULE 
Friday, November 4
*Penn at Yale, 6 pm
*Princeton at Brown, 7 pm
*Harvard at Columbia, 7 pm
*Dartmouth at Cornell, 7 pm

Saturday, November 5
*Penn at Brown, 5 pm
*Dartmouth at Columbia, 5 pm
*Harvard at Cornell, 5 pm
*Princeton at Yale, 5 pm

* Ivy League Contests

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
September 6 - Kendall Polan, Yale, Sophomore, Setter
September 13 - Madeline Baird, Dartmouth, Senior, Outside Hitter
September 20 - Annie Villanueva, Dartmouth, Senior, Middle Blocker
September 27 - Cathryn Quinn, Princeton, Senior, Middle Blocker
October 4 - Kendall Polan, Yale, Sophomore, Setter
October 11 - Taylor Cramm, Yale, Senior, Middle Blocker
October 18 - Lydia Rudnick, Princeton, Junior, Outside Hitter  
October 25 - Madeline Baird, Dartmouth, Senior, Outside Hitter
November 1 - Annie Villanueva, Dartmouth, Senior, Middle Blocker
November 8
November 15

ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
September 6 - Maddie Lord, Brown, Freshman, Outside Hitter
September 13 - Mollie Rogers, Yale, Freshman, Outside Hitter
September 20 - Mollie Rogers, Yale, Freshman, Outside Hitter
September 27 - Ginny Willis, Princeton, Freshman, Setter
October 4 - Nicole Kincade, Princeton, Freshman, Middle Blocker
October 11 - Caitlin Brenton, Columbia, Freshman, Outside Hitter
October 18 - Ginny Willis, Princeton, Freshman, Setter
October 25 - Mollie Rogers, Yale, Freshman, Outside Hitter
November 1 - Alex Schoenberger, Dartmouth, Freshman, Outside Hitter & Ginny Willis, Princeton, Freshman, Setter
November 8
November 15

HONOR ROLL
September 6 - Janel Forte, Cornell (So., OH), Lauren Martin, Penn (Jr., RS), Cathryn Quinn, Princeton (Sr., MB), Monique Roberts, Columbia (Sr., MB), Mollie Rogers, Yale (Fr., OH) and Annie Villanueva, Dartmouth (Sr., MB)

September 13 - Kathryn Conner, Brown (Fr., DS/L), Hilary Ford, Princeton (Sr., L), Sarah Hanna, Princeton (Fr., OH), Lauren Martin, Penn (Jr., RS), Teresa Skelly, Harvard (So., MB), Meagan Tatum, Cornell (Sr., RS)

September 20 - McHaney Carter, Yale (So., MB), Taylor Docter, Harvard (Jr., OH), Megan Gaughn, Columbia (Jr., OH), Maddie Lord, Brown (Fr., OH), Lauren Martin, Penn (Jr., RS), Jordan Reeder, Cornell (Sr., S)

September 27 - Madeline Baird, Dartmouth (Sr., OH), Heather Braunagel, Columbia (So., MB), Kristen Casey, Harvard (Fr., OH), Allie Frappier, Yale (Fr., OH), Lauren Martin, Penn (Jr., RS), Madeleine Przybyl, Cornell (Sr., MB)   

October 4 - Natalie Doyle, Harvard (So., S), Annika Gilottone, Brown (Sr., S), Madeleine Przybyl, Cornell (Sr., MB), Cathryn Quinn, Princeton (Sr., MB), Dani Shepherd, Penn (So., L), Emma White, Penn (Fr., OH)

October 11 - Taylor Docter, Harvard (Jr., OH), Savannah Fletcher, Columbia (So., MB), Amanda Pacheco, Penn (Jr., MB), Kendall Polan, Yale (So., S), Mollie Rogers, Yale (Fr., OH), Lydia Rudnick, Princeton (Jr., OH), Madeline Rumer, Columbia (So., MB), Annie Villanueva, Dartmouth (Sr., MB)

October 18 - Madeline Baird, Dartmouth (Sr., OH), Heather Braunagel, Columbia (Jr., MB), McHaney Carter, Yale (So., MB), Allie Frappier, Yale (Fr., OH), Kelly Marble, Cornell (So.,  OH), Amanda Pacheco, Penn (Jr., MB)

October 25 - Heather Braunagel, Columbia (Jr., MB), Caitlin Brenton, Columbia (Fr., MB), Meghan Connolly, Penn (Fr., S), Rachel D'Epagnier, Cornell (So., MB), Erica Reetz, Yale (So., OH), Teresa Skelly, Harvard (So., MB), Haley Wessels, Yale (Jr., MB), Ginny Willis, Princeton (Fr., S)

November 1 - Heather Braunagel, Columbia (Jr., MB), Caitlin Brenton, Columbia (Fr., MB), Taylor Docter, Harvard (Jr., OH), Allie Frapier, Yale (Fr., OH), Megan Gaughn, Columbia (Jr., OH), Risa Ka'awa, Cornell (Sr., L), Erica Reetz, Yale (So., OH), Alexandra Rieckhoff, Brown (So., S), Lydia Rudnick, Princeton (So., OH)

November 8
November 15

WEEKLY AWARD HISTORY

*Shared honor

IVY LEAGUE IN NCAA STATS
In the NCAA statistics through the Oct. 30 matches, the Ivy League is represented in the top 100 in the following categories:

Individual
Aces Per Set
68. Lucia Pohlman, Dartmouth (Fr., S) - 0.38

Assists Per Set
60. Kendall Polan, Yale (So., S) - 10.61
98. Ginny Willis, Princeton (Fr., S) - 10.07

Digs Per Set
3. Dani Shepherd, Penn (So., L) - 6.34
18. Christine Wu, Harvard (Sr., L/DS) - 5.49
34. Hilary Ford, Princeton (Sr., DS) - 5.17
38. Annika Gliottone, Brown (Sr., DS/L) - 5.11
55. Charlee Dyroff, Columbia (So., L) - 4.87

Hitting Percentage
28. Annie Villanueva, Dartmouth (Sr., MB) - .368
48. Taylor Cramm, Yale (Sr., MB) - .353

Kills Per Set
94. Madeline Baird, Dartmouth (Sr., OH) - 3.61

Points Per Set
74. Cathryn Quinn, Princeton (Sr., MB) - 4.33

Team
Aces Per Set
93. Harvard - 1.35

Assists Per Set
49. Yale - 12.75
95. Princeton - 12.16

Blocks Per Set
64. Columbia - 2.38
95. Princeton - 2.21

Digs Per Set
6. Cornell - 18.41
7. Penn - 18.38
11. Yale - 18.17
15. Harvard - 17.91
18. Dartmouth - 17.85
32. Columbia - 17.25
54. Princeton - 16.57
71. Brown - 16.21

Hitting Percentage
49. Yale - .244
63. Dartmouth - .235
84. Columbia - .226

Kills Per Set
51. Yale - 13.71

Match W-L Percentage
41. Yale - .750
71. Princeton - .682
94. Columbia - .650