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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Brown
Players Mentioned
Volleyball Fights Off Three Match Balls, Stays Perfect In Ivies With 3-2 Thriller
October 11, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
BOX SCORE l VIDEO INTERVIEW W/ KENDALL PETERKIN l TIGERCAST W/ SABRINA KING
Nicole Kincade has battled through three injury-plagued seasons to get to this moment, and she wasn't about to let a golden opportunity slip away Friday night. The senior middle punctuated an absolute thriller at Dillon Gym Friday night with back-to-back kills to keep the Princeton women's volleyball team perfect in Ivy League play.
Princeton moved to 4-0 in Ivy League play in the wildest way possible. Despite a big lead early in the fifth set against Brown, the Tigers needed to fight off three match balls to give Kincade a chance to seal the victory. Four-time Ivy League Player of the Week Kendall Peterkin killed off the final one at 19-19 and set up an all-senior combination for the final two points.
Senior Ginny Willis, starting for injured Ivy assists leader Lauren Miller, ran a slide play for Kincade, who blistered the ball into the back center of the court for a 20-19 lead. Princeton didn't get fancy and ran the same play again one point later, and Kincade put down her 16th kill to ignite another energetic Dillon Gym crowd for a 21-19 victory.
"Nicole and Ginny have a really good connection," head coach Sabrina King said afterwards. We knew Kendall would get a certain number of kills, but those two work well together, and their senior leadership really carried us through. We stabilized our passing after the first set and played well in the next two. The last set was a fight, and I think we proved something tonight."
Peterkin recorded her third 20-20 match of the season with 26 kills and 21 digs, as well as five blocks, while sophomore Cara Mattaliano added 12 kills, 14 digs and three blocks. Kincade, the Ivy League leader in blocks, had seven to lead the front-line defense, while junior Sarah Daschbach recorded a career-best 35 digs to lead the back line. Freshman Kelly Matthews had a career night of her own, recording nine kills and 12 digs.
Willis, a former All-Ivy honoree, recorded 62 assists, her most since a 69-assist effort at Harvard midway through the 2012 season.
The victory sets up a huge showdown Saturday against four-time reigning Ivy League champion Yale, which moved to 3-1 in Ivy play with a 3-0 victory at Penn. The 5 pm match will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network.