Princeton Tigers Defeat In-State Rival Seton Hall in 5

MATCH NOTES

• Seton Hall def. Princeton in five (16-25, 25-23, 25-14, 21-25, 15-12)
• Princeton moves to 3-1; Seton Hall falls to 4-2
• Princeton, New Jersey
• Attendance: 220
• Box Score

In their home opener, Princeton held off intrastate rival Seton Hall in a five-set thriller that featured two Tiger sophomores, opposite Maggie O’Connell and outside Natasha Skov, notching 21 kills apiece.

Another Princeton sophomore, setter Jessie Harris, had 54 assists and senior outside Kelly Matthews recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs.

Three separate Pirates tallied double-digit kills for Seton Hall: middle blocker Abby Thelen (15), opposite Sharay Barnes (14) and outside Caitlin Koska (11). Sophomore middle blocker Haylee Gasser added 10 blocks.

Seton Hall started the night strong, taking the first set 25-16 on a Caitlin Koska kill. In the second, three consecutive kills by Princeton’s O’Connell made it 21-20 Tigers. After a Seton Hall timeout, Harris recorded an ace and Princeton went on to take the set 25-23.

The Tigers carried the momentum into the third, with O’Connell and Skov leading the way offensively. By the time they won the set 25-14, O’Connell had recorded her 16th kill and Skov her 15th of the night.

In set four, Seton Hall battled back and forced the tiebreaker with some timely hitting from Barnes and Koska. Set five started with a kill and two blocks by O’Connell to give Princeton an early 3-0 margin. The Pirates stayed close throughout much of the set but another O’Connell kill gave Princeton its first match point at 14-10 and Skov’s career-best 21st kill gave the Tigers the match.

Princeton travels to Pennsylvania to play Villanova, Albany and Connecticut this weekend, while Seton Hall heads to Normal, Illinois for the Redbird Classic and matches against Cincinnati, Illinois State and Dayton.

Tigers Win! Natasha Skov with a career-best 21st kill, and the Tigers beat Seton Hall 3-2, 15-12 in the 5th! Thriller! pic.twitter.com/4SML2z2ZiV

— PrincetonVolley (@PrincetonVolley) September 7, 2017

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy: Princeton Athletics

Career Night By Skov Powers Princeton Past Seton Hall In 3-2 Thriller

Natasha Skov watched her three classmates earn All-Ivy honors during a 2016 championship season, as she waited patiently for her opportunity behind eventual Ivy League Player of the Year Cara Mattaliano.

Skov’s first opportunity to play in Dillon Gym came Wednesday night, and she didn’t waste a moment of it.

The Oakland native powered Princeton to a thrilling 3-2 win over Seton Hall in the Tigers’ 2017 home opener; Skov had a career-best 21 kills, including a cross-court strike on match ball, to improve the Tigers to 3-1 on the young season.

Classmate Maggie O’Connell, the Ivy League leader in kills after the opening weekend, added 21 kills, five blocks and four digs for the two-time defending Ivy League champion, while senior co-captain Kelly Matthews added 11 kills and 15 digs. Senior Maddie Huber led the defensive effort with 24 digs, while sophomore Jessie Harris paced the offense with 54 assists.

Junior middle Nnenna Ibe hit .583 (7-0-12) and added six blocks for the Tigers, who will head to Philadelphia this weekend to compete in the Villanova Tournament. The Tigers (3-1) will open play against the Wildcats Friday at 1:30 pm.

Courtesy: Seton Hall Athletics

PIRATES FALL IN FIVE SETS AT PRINCETON

PRINCETON, N.J. –Junior Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) recorded her third double-double of the season with 15 kills and 11 digs, but the Seton Hall women’s volleyball team lost in five sets at Princeton, 3-2 (25-16, 23-25, 14-25, 25-21, 12-15), on Wednesday.

The Pirates fell to 4-2 on the season and had a three-match win streak snapped.

SET 1:
The first set was close until Seton Hall took control with the score tied at 11.  The Pirates scored five straight points, which prompted a Princeton timeout.  Out of the break, The Hall kept up the pressure and extended the run to 12-3.  Blocks by Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) andDominique Mason (Chicago, Ill.) gave the Pirates a commanding 23-14 advantage.  A kill by junior Caitlin Koska (Franklin, Wis.) ended the set in Seton Hall’s favor a few points later, 25-16.

SET 2:
The Pirates fell behind early in set two, 10-6, but bounced back with four straight and blocks by Koska and freshman Amanda Rachwal (Bethlehem, Pa.) tied the score at 10.  A kill by Mason put the Pirates in front 20-17, but the Tigers responded with four straight to take a 21-20 lead.  With Princeton in set point, the Pirates scored two straight and forced the Tigers to take a timeout, but Princeton scored out of the break to tie the match with a 25-23 set two victory.

SET 3:
Princeton took control early in set three.  Leading 7-6, the Tigers went on a 10-2 run to take a commanding 17-8 advantage.  Princeton attacked at a match-high .412 clip in set three and went on to win, 25-14.

SET 4:
The fourth set was close and featured nine ties and three lead changes.  Blocks by Koska and Rachwal gave the Pirates an 18-14 advantage and the Tigers couldn’t draw closer than two points for the rest of the set.  A kill by Thelen put the Pirates in set point, and a kill by Koska ended it for The Hall, 25-21, to tie the match.

SET 5:
Princeton scored the first three points of the set, but the Pirates battled back and tied the score at eight on a kill by Sharay Barnes (Swarthmore, Pa.).  The Tigers responded with three straight points to take an 11-8 lead and force a Seton Hall timeout.

Inside the Numbers:

Senior Sarah Kenneweg (Poolesville, Md.) tallied a career-high 27 digs to go with seven assists.

Barnes finished with a season-high 14 kills to go with four blocks.

Gasser recorded a career-high 10 blocks.

Junior Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) had 24 assists and nine digs.

Koska tallied 11 kills and a career-high seven blocks.

Seton Hall recorded a .176 attack percentage for the match, while Princeton attacked at .189.

Seton Hall finished with 54 team kills, while Princeton had 69.

The Pirates totaled 63 team digs, while Princeton had 73.

News & Notes:

Thelen has led the Pirates in kills in all six matches so far this season.

Seton Hall improves to 5-7 all-time against Princeton.

The Pirates drop to 2-1 in five-set matches this season.

Coffey played in her 68th consecutive match, which leads all active Pirates.

Up Next:
The Pirates return to action on Friday, September 8 when it begins play at the Redbird Classic in Normal, Ill.  The Hall will face former BIG EAST foe Cincinnati at 5:00 p.m. ET.  On Saturday, Seton Hall will take on host Illinois State at 1:30 p.m. ET, followed by Dayton at 5:00 p.m. ET.