Match Stats
In a much anticipated rematch with the Ivy League champion, Princeton came out strong to sweep the reigning champs.
To led the Tigers, Cara Mattaliano put down 12 kills and two aces. Close behind, Devon Peterkin contributed 11 kills and Brittany Ptak added six kills and five blocks in the win. Princeton hit for .333 on the night, holding Harvard to .101.
Harvard’ freshman Grace Roberts Burbank recorded 13 kills with a .323 hitting percentage. Isabelle Tashima picked up nine digs.
Press Release
Courtesy of Princeton Athletics
They waited long enough to play in front of their home crowd. They waited long enough to get another shot at Harvard.
The Princeton women’s volleyball team made sure the wait was worth it — for them, and the near-1000 fans that were treated to a spectacular display by the reigning Ivy League champion.
Princeton ran its win streak to six matches and improved to 2-0 in the Ivy League with a dominant 25-20, 25-11, 25-20 over Harvard, the team that shared the Ivy title with the Tigers last year. The league’s most efficient offensive team flexed their muscles once again, hitting .333 for the match and limitin themselves to only six total errors in the final two sets combined.
Revenge — Harvard defeated Princeton in an Ivy playoff match to claim the NCAA tournament bid — may have been on the mind of most Tigers, but three of Princeton’s best players on the night were in high school during that 2015 playoff. Freshman Devon Peterkin had the best match of her young career, recording 11 kills (with no errors) and 10 digs, while classmate Maggie O’Connell added eight kills and two blocks.
Those two have both been Ivy League Rookies of the Week already this season, and both have been starters most of the season. Jessica Harris came off the bench and made a huge impact at the setter spot; she had 31 assists, four blocks and three digs for Princeton, which stays home Saturday and will host Dartmouth at 5 pm on the Ivy League Digital Network.
Press Release
Courtesy of Harvard Athletics
PRINCETON, N.J. – In a rematch of the 2015 Ivy League Playoff, the Harvard women’s volleyball team fell 3-0 to Princeton on Friday night at Dillon Gymnasium. The Tigers won by set scores of 25-20, 25-11, and 25-20.
Freshman Grace Roberts Burbank led Harvard with 13 kills and a .323 hitting percentage, while Corinne Bain added 16 assists and Isabelle Tashima had nine digs. Princeton held Harvard to just .101 on attack for the night, while posting a .333 hitting percentage for the night.
Harvard (3-8, 1-1 Ivy League) lost just the second match in the last eight meetings against Princeton (8-3, 2-0 Ivy League), which won its sixth straight match.
In the deciding third set, the Crimson kept it close early, tying the score at 8-8 on Bain’s kill to the back left corner. But Princeton pulled away midway through the set with a 13-11 lead, winning five of the next six points to extend its lead to six. Harvard cut the lead to 20-18 with a 4-0 run punctuated by a Roberts Burbank service ace, but the Tigers won the next three points, and closed out the match at 25-20.
Harvard fell behind early in the opening set 7-4, but a 5-0 run by the Crimson, capped off by Bain’s cross-court kill, put Harvard ahead in the set and forced a Princeton timeout.
With the set tied at 15-15, the Tigers reestablished control with a 4-0 run to take the lead for good. Maggie O’Connell’s kill to the back left corner helped Princeton take the first set at 25-20.
The Tigers controlled the second set with 16 kills and just two errors for a .500 attack percentage, holding Harvard to a .133 hitting percentage in the frame. Up 17-11, Princeton won the last eight points in the set to take a 2-0 lead and take control of the match for good.
Harvard continues Ivy League play tomorrow night at Penn, with the game available to stream on the Ivy League Digital Network and on Watch ESPN and the ESPN app. Game time is 5 p.m. ET.
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