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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Columbia
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Balanced Offense, Second-Set Rally Sends Tigers To 3-0 Home Victory
October 10, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
BOX SCORE
And just like that, the Princeton women's volleyball team is back in the thick of things.
The Tigers grabbed their first Ivy League victory of the season Friday night, rallying from a 19-13 deficit in the second set and thrilling a loud Dillon Gym crowd for a 25-18, 25-23, 25-19 victory over the Columbia Lions.
That win, combined with a Yale loss at Dartmouth, means that Princeton is only two matches back of the top teams with 10 more to play. It isn't the ideal position, but it is significantly better than where Princeton stood at the end of the previous weekend.
Senior Kendall Peterkin led the way with 11 kills, but it was a far more balanced offense for the Tigers Friday night. Three Princeton players had eight kills, including All-Ivy middle Brittany Ptak, who didn't have an error in the match. Freshman Brittany Smith had one of the best matches of her young career (8 kills, .538 attack percentage), while junior Cara Mattaliano had eight kills and 11 digs in the win.
Senior libero Sarah Daschbach had 17 digs to lead the defense, while freshman middle Nnenna Ibe matched Peterkin with three blocks.
The match changed in the second set, when Columbia led 19-13 and seemed poised to even the match. Kills by Smith and Ptak evened the score at 20-20, and a kill by Smith and ace by freshman Claire Nussbaum opened a 22-20 lead. Two hitting errors by the Lions ended the set, and Princeton carried that momentum through the third set.
Princeton will look to build on that momentum Saturday when it hosts Cornell at 5 pm.