Women's volleyball splits Ivy weekend

Princeton women’s volleyball (6–6 overall, 2–1 Ivy League) split their weekend against Columbia and Cornell. The Tigers defeated Columbia (8–5, 1–2) 3–1 on Friday but took a tough 3–1 loss from Cornell (10–2, 3–0) on Saturday.

The match against the Columbia Lions started with a close first set. The Tigers trailed behind the Lions until kill from first year middle blocker Olivia Schewe tied the score at 18–all. The Tigers took the lead and went on a 5–1 run, taking the first set 25–19.

The second set score was tied eleven times. The Tigers managed to have a 10–7 breakaway lead after three consecutive kills by senior outside and right side hitter Devon Peterkin, but the Lions came back to tie it at 10–all, prompting them to take control of the game. After a kill by Schewe tied the score 17–all, the Tigers didn’t hold another lead, giving the Lions the second set victory at 25–22.

Set three was another close one between Princeton and Columbia. Princeton held the lead until a Lion kill evened the score at 10–all. This allowed the Lions to take a quick lead until the Tigers took it back after being tied three different times. Tied at 24–all, two kills by senior right side hitter Maggie O’Connell put the Tigers up 26–24.

The Tigers took the lead in the fourth set quickly, only allowing the Lions to score 15 total points in the set. Once the Tigers broke away from the Lions, Columbia didn’t come within two points. The Tigers went on an eight point run to finish off the match.

Saturday night against Cornell didn’t end as well for Princeton. Both undefeated in the Ivy League conference, the two teams battled hard. Leading 15–10 in the first set, the Tigers let three kills and a block cut the lead to one point. Princeton didn’t let the Big Red take lead of the game, but they came back and tied it at 24–all. Two Cornell kills gave the Big Red the first set victory.

Set two was a different performance for the Tigers. They only let Cornell score 14 total points, finishing the set with an 11–point lead. Cornell didn’t have a lead the entire second set.

The Tigers had the advantage in the third set but allowed Cornell to go on a quick run to make the score 10–8. The lead bounced between the two teams until a Big Red kill coming off of a 16–all tie gave them the push they needed to go on another quick run. Cornell had the first set point of the set, but a kill from O’Connell tied the set at 24–all. A Tiger ace gave Princeton set point, leading 25–24. A Big Red kill tied the score once more, but a kill from sophomore outside hitter Elena Montgomery put the Tigers at set point again. The score was tied at 26–all for the last time after a Cornell kill prompted two more quick kills to give Cornell the third set victory.

Fighting to stay in the match, Princeton gave up four quick points before they scored their first in the fourth set. Cornell held the lead for the entire set, except during the five tied scores. Cornell defeated Princeton 25–21 in the fourth, keeping their undefeated record and making the Tigers 2–1 in conference play.

O’Connell and Montgomery both finished the weekend with 30 kills and a combined 12 blocks. Junior middle blocker Clare Lenihan added 27 kills of her own. Senior setter Jessie Harris had 45 assists against Columbia and came just shy of her career record with 58 against Cornell. Sophomore libero Cameron Dames lead the defense with 33 digs overall, and Peterkin contributed 29 for the weekend.

Yale (7–5, 3–0) and Cornell sit at the top of the Ivy League standings, with Princeton right behind them.

The Tigers will face Brown next Saturday at 5 p.m. in Dillon Gymnasium followed by the widely anticipated ESPNU matchup between Princeton and Yale on Oct. 13 at 1 p.m.