8:33 p.m., Nov. 30, 2007--The University of Delaware volleyball team defeated Princeton University 3-1 on Friday evening in the opening round of the NCAA Division I championship tournament. The match was played at St. John's University in New York.

Princeton took the first game of the match 30-24 but the Fightin' Blue Hens came back to win the second 32-30 and the third 30-27 before taking the deciding fourth game 30-22.

With the victory, the Hens improved to 31-4 on the season and will face the winner of the late Friday match between St. John's and Long Island University at 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 1.

St. John's is the Big East Conference champion and LIU won the Northeast Conference. Princeton was the Ivy League champion.

UD had four players in double figures in kills, led by junior Kelly Gibson with 19. Paige Erickson had 13, Michelle LaLonde had 12 and Colleen Walsh had 11. Megan Welch had 51 assists and Stephanie Barry had 35 digs. Gibson also added 20 digs.

Before the game, UD Head Coach Bonnie Kenny said her Colonial Athletic Association championship team kept to its routine. “We didn't do anything special. We left Delaware a little earlier than we usually would so we could practice but we've just stuck to our normal routine,” she said.

Kenny knew Princeton would offer a difficult challenge. "They have quite a few weapons. They have really good ball control. We played them three years ago and Princeton is always a team that just never goes away,” she said before the match. “We're going to have to be on our A game and hopefully we can at least match them at the net with our outside hitters and our middles. There is going to be a battle for ball control. You're going to see a lot of defense."