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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Cara Mattaliano Previews Key Weekend As Tigers Host Empire State Pair
October 08, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
TIGERCAST WITH SABRINA KING
The women's volleyball Ivy League season is a long one, but the margin of error for Princeton shrank significantly over the last two weeks. A critical home weekend begins Friday, as the Empire State duo of Columbia and Cornell will make their way to Dillon Gym this weekend.
| Schedule | Columbia at Princeton, Fri, 7 pm • Cornell at Princeton, Sat, 5 pm |
| Follow Live |
Live Video l Live Stats |
| @PUTigers l @PrincetonVolley l @PUTigers_Live | |
| Rosters | Princeton l Columbia l Cornell |
| Schedules | Princeton l Columbia l Cornell |
| Statistics | Princeton l Columbia l Cornell |
| Last Weekend | Harvard 3, Princeton 0 l Dartmouth 3, Princeton 1 |
| Ivy League | Standings • Weekly Release • Statistics |
Princeton is 0-3 in the Ivy League coming off last weekend's losses at both Harvard and Dartmouth, but they have an opportunity to climb right back into the race with a sweep this weekend.
Both matches will be streamed live by the Ivy League Digital Network.
The Tigers have been led by the 1-2 hitting punch of Kendall Peterkin (4th in the Ivies with 3.27 kills/set) and Cara Mattaliano (7th, 2.88), but they have also gotten several of the their newcomers some early Ivy League experience already this season. While freshman Nnenna Ibe, who leads the Ivy League in hitting percentage (.346), has been a starter all season, classmates Claire Nussbaum, Brittany Smith and Brooke Hershberger all saw time in key spots last weekend.
Both head coach Sabrina King and Cara Mattaliano talked about the early contributions by the freshman class this week. King was a guest of TigerCast, while Mattaliano talked to GoPrincetonTigers.TV about the state of the team and the upcoming weekend.
Like Princeton, both Columbia and Cornell will come into the weekend looking to position themselves right back in the Ivy League race. Columbia is 1-2 in Ivy play; senior setter Alex Reale is among the league leader in assists this season, while the Lions averaging at least one dig per set more than any other team in the league.
Cornell is currently 0-3, but they nearly stunned reigning co-champion Yale last weekend. The Big Red grabbed a 2-0 lead in the match, including a convincing 25-11 victory in the opener, but couldn't take a final set. Macey Wilson is the closest competitor to Nnenna Ibe in attack percentage (.343) in the Ivy League.