Women’s volleyball (16–6 overall, 11–3 Ivy League) clinched the Ivy League regular season title in a clean weekend sweep. As No. 1 seed, the Tigers will host the Ivy League Tournament beginning Nov. 21.
On Nov. 15, The Tigers beat the Harvard Crimson (7–15, 6–8) 3–0 (25–20, 25–21, 25–15) at home on “Let Her Play” night and celebrated Senior Night with a 3–0 (25–12, 25–22, 25–15) win over the Dartmouth Big Green (7–17, 4–10) the following day.
Tigers secure sweep against Crimson despite back and forth
Princeton took an early lead against Harvard. After the Tiger’s first seven points, they remained at least three points ahead the rest of the set.
“[In] the first set, although we played quite well and it felt like we were dominating, the score didn’t look like it, so I definitely knew going into the second set, we had to stay the course and play even better,” Head Coach Sabrina King ’01 told The Daily Princetonian post-game.
A strong kill from senior outside hitter Valerie Nutakor finished the 25–20 set with Princeton on top.
The tides turned at the start of the second set, as Harvard left Princeton in a four point deficit. Impressive plays back and forth gave the Tigers opportunity to put points on the board, but Harvard held on tightly to their lead. After a back-to-back kill and block from the Crimson, the score stood at 10–5. Princeton responded in a 4–0 run to narrow the gap, but Harvard pulled away again.
“[Harvard can] sneak a lot of points, so we had to play a little bit of catch up, but I think this year we’ve been good at coming from behind,” King said to the ‘Prince.’
A timeout for the Tigers marked a turning point in the set.
In an exciting rally, featuring close, scraping saves by both teams, first-year middle blocker Shelby Burriss was able to secure the Tiger point with a strong spike. This sparked serious forward motion for the team.
As the Tigers made their comeback, the set evolved into a close, competitive climb to 25 points. The two teams were tied at four different points late in the set — at 18, 19, 20, and 21 points.
“We knew Harvard was going to come out strong. So we just had to take off,” senior middle blocker Lucia Scalamandre explained to the ‘Prince’ post-game. “Though we fell a little bit in the second set, we stayed calm, and I think that’s why we were able to bounce back.”
Princeton prevailed with an impressive spike by Burriss and from close saves by Nutakor, junior setter Sydney Draper, and junior middle blocker Ava Harrington.
The Tigers took the second set 25–21 with a final point from junior outside hitter Erin McNair.
In the third and final set of the night, Princeton took an energized attack and held an early lead of 7–1. Despite Harvard making up some ground, a clean kill from McNair and an excellent block from Scalamandre, as part of a 3–0 run for Princeton, helped maintain the Orange and Black’s decisive lead.
McNair and Scalamandre achieved match-highs of 15 kills and five blocks, respectively.
“Our coaches were great at preparing us with film,” Scalamandre told the ‘Prince,’ “We knew what we had to do.”
In a strong offensive and defensive showing, the Tigers secured the sweep 25–15 after a confident finishing hit from Burriss.
“We just made sure to control what was on our side of the net,” McNair said to the ‘Prince.’ “None of us lost faith in each other and that’s super important. We always trust the girl next to us.”
Big Green fall 3–0 with a comfortable Princeton victory
Princeton carried the momentum from their Friday win into their Saturday Senior Night match against Dartmouth.
The first set saw Princeton out to an early lead with a 6–0 run, and the Tigers were able to maintain the upper hand. The set ended 25–12 with an ace from junior libero Sydney Bold.
Similar to the day before, the Tigers fell behind at the start of the second set. The teams traded points until Dartmouth gained a substantial lead of 11–6 after a 4–0 run.
Princeton responded with late success with three kills from McNair. The close set ended 25–22 in Princeton’s favor with an ace from sophomore defensive specialist Nicki Gaito.
The third set saw balanced points back and forth until Princeton pulled ahead after a 7–0 run, achieving a decisive lead for the Tigers, the score standing at 20–8. The Orange and Black maintained the distance, and a kill from McNair ended the match 25–15.
This weekend’s success marks the 21st championship title for the Tigers and the third within the last four years.
“This year the team really blossomed throughout the course of the season, and I’m really, really, really proud of them,” King said to the ‘Prince.’
The Tigers will take to the court again next Friday, Nov. 21 for the Ivy League Tournament Semifinal.
“[It’s] super exciting to be Ivy champs. We’ve worked really hard, and it’s nice to get some recognition for that,” McNair told the ‘Prince.’ “But our job’s also not done and we’re excited about what’s to come.”
Siena Sydenham is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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