Dartmouth came out strong against Princeton (13-11, 8-5 Ivy), leaving little opportunity for the Tigers to fight back.
The score in the first set remained close in the beginning, with neither team pulling ahead by more than two points, until blocks by Annie Villanueva '12, Madeline Baird '12 and Elisa Scudder '14 led to three attack errors by Princeton. The Big Green capitalized on the mistakes to take the lead and eventually win the game 25-22.
Villanueva is a member of The Dartmouth Staff.
Dartmouth worked quickly in the second set, immediately jumping to a 6-1 lead, and eventually to an 18-10 lead. The Tigers fought back, however, to win 12 of the next 16 points, tying the score at 22.
The Big Green did not give up its lead that easily, as Baird and Scudder both racked up a kill, one after the other. Princeton junior Cathryn Quinn attempted to keep her team in the game with a kill of her own, but Baird's kill down the line on the next point ended the set 25-23.
Princeton's fire in the end of the second set carried over to the third game, in which they took an early 10-4 lead. The Big Green never caught up, losing the set 20-25.
"We knew it was going to be a battle," Villanueva said.
Johnson was a huge force in the fourth set of the game. She started off with two kills, eventually ending with a total of seven in addition to an ace. Her eight points were crucial to the team's 25-19 victory.
Johnson ended the game with 19 kills, leading all players on the court and tying her career high. Baird recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 16 digs, and Alissa Santa-Maria '13 had 19 digs and 41 assists.
Villanueva said she was content with the way the team played.
"It felt good to end with at least one game in which we played how I know we can," she said.
The Big Green could not carry its winning momentum over to the match against Penn (15-10, 11-2 Ivy).
The Quakers came out strong in the first set, and, with a team total of 14 kills, won 25-20.
Dartmouth proved that it came to play in the next set, taking the set 25-20.
The third game was a long fight for both teams, with the teams neck-and-neck the whole time. Despite Dartmouth's efforts, however, it dropped the set 26-28.
Villanueva said that losing the third set was tough for the team.
"I think everyone just got a little down after that," she said.
The fourth set went quickly, with Penn taking the lead from the get-go and holding it to seal a 25-10 win.
Despite the loss, the team was still proud of its play, according to Villanueva.
"We played really well and really hard," she said. "They're just a really good team."
She added that while this season's record is not indicative of the team's talent, the players learned a lot that can be used to Dartmouth's advantage next year. The team will also have four seniors leading the team.
"We're going to have a lot of upperclasswomen leadership, which will hopefully help us win more," she said.
