Match Stats
- Princeton (5-3) defeats Rutgers (4-7) – 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-12)
- Princeton (6-3) defeats Seton Hall (5-7) – 3-1 (20-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-22)
Princeton’s Cara Mattaliano posted back-to-back double-doubles as the Tigers trounced Rutgers and Seton Hall in a doubleheader to win the Rutgers Tournament Friday.
Early in the day, Princeton blanked Rutgers behind a 12-kill, 13-dig showing from Mattaliano. Rutgers held tough on their home court early, pushing the first two sets to 25-23 and 25-22, but ran out of steam late and lost in straight sets.
Lauren Cloyd did put up 9 kills and Jillian Duffin 7 for Rutgers. But Mattaliano was aided by Princeton freshman Maggie O’Connell‘s 9 kills to shut the door.
The second match started off even more dramatically, with Seton Hall winning the first set 25-20. But Princeton roared back to convincingly rattle off three straight sets and pick up the win, getting an outstanding 20 kills and 17 digs from Mattaliano.
Seton Hall’s Danielle Schroeder led her team with 16 kills, and Caitlin Koska picked up 15 kills and 8 digs, but it wasn’t enough to snag the win from Princeton, which is chasing a repeat Ivy League title.
Ivy League play starts up next weekend for Princeton. Rutgers battles Seton Hall tomorrow.
Press releases
Rutgers:
The reigning Ivy League Player spent Friday looking like a player ready to chase down another championship.
Her performances in back-to-back wins over Rutgers and Seton Hall brought her one title (the 2016 Rutgers Tournament), but it is the Ivy League championship that matters most to Cara Mattaliano.
And that chase officially begins in eight days.
Mattaliano recorded back-to-back double-doubles, including a brilliant 20-kill, 17-dig showing against Seton Hall, to lead Princeton to a second straight Rutgers Tournament title. She had 12 kills and 13 digs in a 25-23, 25-22, 25-12 win over Rutgers, and followed it up hitting a season-best .368 (20-6-38) in a 20-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Seton Hall.
PRINCETON 3, RUTGERS 0
Mattaliano was the only Tiger with double-digit kills in the win over Rutgers, but freshman Maggie O’Connell had nine kills and hit .400 in the win. Sophomore Nnenna Ibe was even more efficient; she hit .500 (6-1-10) with four blocks in the road victory.
The first two sets were tighter than Princeton would have liked, but sophomore setter Claire Nussbaum guided an efficient offensive attack in the finale; the All-Ivy setter had 32 assists and six digs in the win, and then she was able to rest and watch Princeton post an exciting win in the second match.
PRINCETON 3, SETON HALL 1
Freshman Jessica Harris had 50 assists for Princeton, while classmate O’Connell had 12 kills and hit .346 in the comeback win over Seton Hall. Sophomores Brooke Hershberger and Brittany Smith were both key members of a highly efficient offensive attack; Hershberger has 12 kills with only one error for a .344 attack percentage, while Smith hit .500 with seven kills for a Princeton team that improved to 6-3 with the perfect weekend.
The defensive duo of Kelly Matthews (22 digs) and Maddie Huber (11 digs) helped keep Seton Hall from matching its strong hitting from the opening set. Ibe added two blocks to go along with her nine kills.
Princeton will now focus on Ivy League play, which opens Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Palestra. The Tigers split a pair of matches with Penn last season, though they would like to flip the early part of last season’s script. Princeton became the first team in Ivy League history to win a title following an 0-3 league start, but it would rather do things the more traditional way this season.
Seton Hall:
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Sophomore Caitlin Koska(Franklin, Wis.) recorded a career-high 15 kills andSophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) had a double-double, but the Seton Hall women’s volleyball team fell to Princeton, 3-1 (25-20, 16-25, 22-25, 22-25), on Friday at the Rutgers Invitational.
Seton Hall (5-7) raced out of the gate and scored the first six points of the match. Princeton cut the Pirate lead to four late, but could never draw even, and the Pirates won the first set wire-to-wire, 25-20. The Hall connected on a .447 attack percentage and Koska and Danielle Schroeder(Chicago, Ill.) led the way with six kills each in the first set alone.
Turning Point:
Princeton bounced back in set two with an equally dominant performance. This time, it was the Tigers who never trailed. Princeton used a 7-1 run to take a commanding 10-4 lead and never looked back in route to a 25-16 set two victory to tie the match.
The Tigers kept the pressure on in set three, taking a 2-1 match lead with another strong performance in the third frame. It was the closest set of the match with the teams combining for 15 ties and six lead changes. With the score tied at 17, Princeton scored three straight and the Pirates couldn’t recover. The Tigers won set three, 25-22, to take a 2-1 match lead.
A kill by Coffey gave the Pirates an 11-8 lead in set four, but Princeton scored five of the next six points and never trailed again in set four. The Tiger lead grew to as many as four points on two occasions before eventually settling on a 25-22 set four final score.
Inside the Numbers:
- Schroeder finished with a team-high 16 kills.
- Coffey finished with 30 assists and 14 digs for her third double-double of the season.
- Sophomore Cherise Hennigan (Corona, Calif.) notched 13 kills without a single attack error.
- Freshman Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) had a career-high seven kills to go with three blocks and an impressive .545 attack percentage.
- Senior Tessa Fournier (Redondo Beach, Calif.) recorded a match-high 24 digs.
- Koska had eight digs to go with her 15 kills.
News & Notes:
- Schroeder has tallied at least 15 kills twice this season and 11 times for her career.
- It’s the first time this season the Pirates have lost after winning the first set.
- Fournier topped the 20-dig mark for the fifth time this season and 34th of her career.
- The Pirates fall to 6-6 all-time against Princeton.
- Seton Hall drops to 2-3 in neutral site matches in 2016.
- Seton Hall falls to 2-2 in four-set matches this season.
Up Next:
The Pirates will return to action tomorrow morning when they complete play at the Rutgers Invitational by taking on the host. Match time is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.
No Rutgers release available as of publication.
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