No. 6 Princeton won its fourth straight BCSL Tournament title on Thursday when it won a straight set victory over 2-seed Notre Dame, 25-16, 25-22, 25-20.
The top seeded Tigers might not have dropped a set in the match, but it was anything but an easy win, as they had to wage a ferocious battle at the net against a hard hitting and hard blocking Irish front line.
Princeton had its hands full in turning back a determined effort by Notre Dame, which was within four, 16-20 before losing the first set and led 22-19 in the second. The Tigers had to win six of the last nine points in the third set to finally pull away from the Irish.
“The play at the net made such a difference,” Princeton coach Patty Manhart said after the win. “This is such a good team. They’re great blockers, they’re great hitters. So the first and second set, we really had to figure out our blocking technique, making sure that it was clean and consistent.
“Because being able to either get those touches or just shut down their hitters, helps us out so much on defense. That was something that started to click the most by the third set, which we really relied on.”
While the first two sets were competitive, the final set of the match was all out war, as the Irish dug in their heels and showed no signs of giving in.
Notre Dame jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the final set behind blocks at the net by Maya Foley, Morgana Trombino and Grace Hempsell and winners from Tatum Justus and Trombino.
But as has been the case in each of its last two state championship seasons, the Tigers can always count on Naomi Lygas at the net to turn the tide.
She did just that. She was a terror up front, banging 22 kill shots in the game, and pulled Princeton even at 11-11 when her spike was blocked out of bounds by Foley and Nora Schmitz.
That sparked a run of six straight points for Princeton, and while Notre Dame did its best to defend against her, she showed more than just raw power, putting Princeton ahead 14-11 when she powered a shot into the far corner of the court for a point.
Notre Dame could stop Lygas momentarily, and used some gritty play at the net to hold her off at times. That play spurred a brief comeback by the Irish, who crept to within two, 16-18. But ultimately, if Lygas wasn’t driving the ball through the defense, she was finessing it into spots where the defense couldn’t reach.
“When she’s front row, I know that we’re in good hands,” Manhart said of Lygas. “I know she’s going to find a way to put that ball away. Even in that last rotation, it took maybe one, two times. But we know we can stick with her. She’s going to find a way to score that point. And it’s always going to be a really big point.”
In spite of her monster game, Lygas admitted that she and her teammates felt the pressure from the Notre Dame front line during the face to face battle at the net.
“They have really big blockers and really good defense,” she said of the Irish. “They, honestly, probably have some of the best defense in the state, which makes it pretty hard to score. In practice we worked a lot of hitting around the block, trying to hit through the block. But they proved that what we were practicing was what we needed to practice.
“I think we worked a lot of hitting outside of them, trying to make space, run faster sets, do as much as we can to put the ball away.
“Once we heard five sets, we knew they weren’t going to go out without a fight, for sure. I think winning in three was a really good feeling to have, because it proves we can accomplish these hard things. But they definitely put their all out there. It was a really fun match to play.”
It seemed pretty apparent that the Irish came to play early on, as the two teams were never separated by more than two points in the first set until Princeton went on a five point run to take a 14-8 lead.
With Lygas in the front row, the Tigers continued to pull away, going ahead by eight at 17-9. But Notre Dame stayed in the set, pulling to within four, 16-20, before Princeton won the final five points to clinch the set.
Notre Dame jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set and managed to hold the lead until Princeton won five of six points to go ahead 11-10.
But the Irish would go on a five point run to take a 17-13 lead and led by three as late as 22-19. But the Tigers won the next three points to tie and Lygas hit two more winners, as Princeton scored the final six points to take the second set.
For all of the fierce play at the net, Princeton coach Manhart was happy with the way her team handled the action further back. She cited that effort as essential to the championship win.
“You have to be so fast,” Manhart said. “The way that Camila (Barbosa) runs our defense, and Charlotte (Woods) and Naomi really work hard to get touches. We’ve got Lily Cao on the back line too. Being able to pick everything up, not letting the other team score, is a big piece of the game.”
Both Princeton and Notre Dame are preparing for the state tournament, which begins on Tuesday. And while the box score may not show it, the Irish prepared for its opening round home game with Red Bank Catholic on Wednesday by pushing one of the state’s top teams to the limit.
“I think they played well,” Notre Dame coach Anthony Carpenter said of his team. “We had some lapses at times when we just couldn’t execute, so that’s what it came down to for us.
“We can play with anybody. When we play the way we’re capable of playing, we can play with any team. So it doesn’t surprise me.
“I told them they have nothing to hang their heads over. They played really well. It’s the little things we have to clean up. We know where we stand heading into states, so that’s the next goal to tackle.”
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