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Volleyball Welcomes Local Rival Penn Friday For Home, Ivy League Opener
September 24, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
VIDEO FEATURE: Brittany Ptak Discusses Early Season, Looks Ahead To Ivies
After a 1-4 start to the season, it would have been easy for the Princeton women's volleyball team to question itself and combust early. Instead, the chemistry that head coach Sabrina King noticed early carried through and helped the Tigers roll to a four-match winning streak entering the most important phase of the season.
| Schedule | Penn at Princeton, 7 pm |
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Ivy League play opens Friday night for the Princeton women's volleyball team, which will host travel partner Penn at 7 pm in Dillon Gym. Two teams that often battled for the Ivy League championship are now looking to break into the Harvard-Yale tier that claimed the league crown last year.
You can watch the match live on the Ivy League Digital Network, and you can follow it through live stats.
Step 1 will be Friday night, and there will be plenty at stake for both teams. After all, it's much easier to start with the lead pack and then to play catch-up immediately.
The last two times Princeton and Penn opened their Ivy League seasons in Dillon Gym, the matches were 3-2 classics, and the Tigers were able to win both. During the 2013 meeting, Kendall Peterkin led the way with 21 kills on the way to a 15-11 victory in the fifth set.
Peterkin had plenty of kills before that, and she has had many more since. During the Hofstra Invitational, she became the 12th Princeton player since 1988 to reach the 1000-kill mark. She had 21 kills in a 3-2 comeback win over Howard in the finale of the Rutgers Tournament, giving her 1070 for her career and moving her within 169 of the all-time Top 10 at Princeton.
While she leads Princeton in both points and kills this season, the offense has been much more balanced this season. Both Cara Mattaliano and Brittany Ptak, each of whom have earned All-Ivy League honors, are averaging more than 2.0 kills per set, while fellow starters Kelly Matthews and Nnenna Ibe have had big performances already this season.
For the first time in several years, Princeton is using two setters, including junior Lauren Miller, who brings plenty of starting experience. She is joined by Claire Nussbaum, one of three freshmen who has earned considerable playing time early this season.
But none of the three, including Brittany Smith, have played a match at Dillon, and none have played an Ivy League match. Fortunately, there is enough upperclassman experience to help them through.
Penn is 5-6 on the season, though it is coming off an impressive win over LaSalle. Alexis Genske leads the team with 2.9 kills per set, while Kendall Covington leads the Quakers in blocks and has a .299 attack percentage.