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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Harvard
Players Mentioned
Volleyball Caps Remarkable Home Weekend With 3-0 Sweep Of 1st-Place Harvard
November 01, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
BOX SCORE
The climb is not finished, but the journey back into Ivy League contention by the Princeton women's volleyball team has been nothing short of remarkable.
The Tigers completed arguably their best home weekend since their 2007 Ivy League championship season Saturday, sweeping first-place Harvard 25-22, 27-25, 25-18 to move within one match of first place in the Ivy League. That win, combined with road losses by both Dartmouth and Yale, moves Princeton into a tie for second place in the Ivy League.
All this from a team that started its Ivy League season 0-3, and was still below the .500 mark at the midway point.
Princeton showed great resilience over the season, not getting down after the tough start, but the Tigers also showed how strong they could play this weekend. Both Dartmouth and Harvard came to Dillon Gym in first place in the league, and neither managed a single set against the Tigers.
Saturday's win over the Crimson — Princeton's first in six tries — was led by the power-hitting duo of Cara Mattaliano and Kendall Peterkin, who led the Tigers on both sides of the net. Mattaliano posted a double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs, while Peterkin had 15 kills, 11 digs and five blocks in the victory.
Princeton also got 15 kills and seven blocks from its middle blocker duo of Brittany Ptak and Nnenna Ibe, both of whom also played well in Friday's win over Dartmouth. Freshman setter Claire Nussbaum paced the offense with 45 assists, while senior libero Sarah Daschbach added 13 digs.
The Tigers never trailed in the opening set, and they ran off three straight points at a 21-21 tie to take control there. The Crimson seemed poised to even the match when it led 22-19 in the second, but three straight Peterkin kills evened the set and forced a Crimson timeout. Princeton would earn three set balls in the second, and it capitalized on the final one with a kill from sophomore Pauli King.
A 7-1 run in the third set all but clinched the victory for the Tigers, who will host five-time defending Ivy League champion Yale next Friday night at 7 pm in Dillon Gym. The match will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network.