After getting off to a rough 4-6 start to its year, the women’s volleyball team kicked off Ivy League play this weekend in a drastically different way — by beating Penn in a 3-2 thriller in front of a packed Dillon Gymnasium.
The Tigers (5-6 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) got off to a slow start, dropping their first set to Penn (10-2, 1-1) 25-21 before gaining some momentum in the second set to win in a decisive 25-17. The third set was much closer, with Princeton walking away with a narrow 25-23 victory, but momentum swung back to the Quakers in dramatic fashion. The fourth set saw Princeton score only 15 points to the Quakers’ 25.
The Tigers were then forced to play just their second fifth set of the season. The last time that Princeton went to five was against South Carolina-Upstate at the Hofstra Tournament on Sept. 14, when the Tigers came out on top 15-10.
This time around, the Tigers once again pulled through, winning the final set 15-11 and securing their first Ivy victory. Freshman outside hitter Cara Mattaliano added two kills to get the final set going, and junior middle blocker Tiana Woolridge recorded another to push the Tigers to an early 5-2 lead.
The Quakers refused to give up, however, never allowing the Tigers a lead of more than three points and eventually evening the score at 11-11. As a full Dillon Gym looked on, Woolridge led the offense on a tear, hitting the go-ahead kill and the final kill as Princeton won the final four points.
Sophomore right side/middle blocker Kendall Peterkin, who earned first-team All-Ivy League honors last season, scored a match-best 21 kills, while adding eight digs and two service aces. Wooldrige and junior middle blocker Nicole Kincade combined to hit 31 kills, while rookie setter Lauren Miller added 59 assists. Princeton hit .313 for the match, significantly higher than their current .203 average this season.
The Tigers continue Ivy play in Ithaca next Friday as they take on the Cornell Big Red before traveling to New York City on Saturday to play Columbia.
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