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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Volleyball Heads North For Challenging Harvard-Dartmouth Weekend
September 30, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
The Princeton women's volleyball team is about to embark on its first full Ivy League weekend of the season. Though the season is very young, these two matches will set the foundation of where Princeton fits in the league this year.
| Schedule | Princeton at Harvard, Fri, 7 pm • Princeton at Dartmouth, Sat, 5 pm |
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| Last Weekend | Penn defeats Princeton 3-1 in Ivy League opener |
| Ivy League | Standings • Weekly Release • Statistics |
Princeton didn't get the Ivy start it hoped for after a 3-1 loss to Penn last weekend, but a double round-robin season leaves plenty of time for a team to bounce back from a season-opening loss. This weekend provides an ideal opportunity to change the storyline, as the Tigers will travel to both defending co-champion Harvard and a Dartmouth team riding high off its season-opening 3-2 win against the Crimson.
The Tigers have been led by senior Kendall Peterkin and junior Cara Mattaliano, both of whom rank in the Ivy League Top 10 in kills this season. Both had 17 kills against Penn, while junior middle Brittany Ptak had 11 kills and hit .400 in the match.
Friday also served as the Ivy League debut for a trio of Princeton freshmen, as Nnenna Ibe, Claire Nussbaum and Brittany Smith each got valuable experience in league play. The trio will continue to be counted on as the Ivy season progresses, especially this weekend against two top programs.
Harvard has one of the league's top individual players in junior setter Corinne Bain, who is among the Ivy leaders in assists, digs and service aces, and she is also producing more than two kills per set. The Crimson has been strong on the defensive side, as they lead the Ivy League with 2.64 blocks per set. Freshman Christina Cornelius leads the league with 1.38 blocks per set.
Dartmouth has been the top offensive team in the league this season. Led by Ivy kills leader Emily Astarita (4.13), the Big Green lead the league in both kills and assists this season. Princeton ranks just behind Dartmouth in both categories, setting up a possible offensive showdown in Hanover Saturday night.
This has been a difficult road trip for Princeton recently; the Tigers are 1-3 on this trip over the last two years, including an 0-2 mark at Harvard.
Of course, that sets up the opportunity to have a much stronger feeling this early in the Ivy League season.