Princeton Sweeps Harvard To Clinch Ivy Title, Can Win Outright Crown & NCAA Berth Saturday

Friday, November 10

Cambridge, Mass.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

17-6, 10-3IVY

Harvard

12-10, 7-6IVY

Princeton

Harvard

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Princeton Sweeps Harvard To Clinch Ivy Title, Can Win Outright Crown & NCAA Berth Saturday

November 10, 2017 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

An incredible fortnight for Princeton women's volleyball ended Friday with another Ivy League championship.

Exactly two weeks after Princeton walked off its home court two matches back of Yale with only five to go, the Tigers left Harvard Friday night with a 3-0 sweep of the Crimson, and an Ivy League-best 17th Ivy League title. It was Princeton's third straight championship, something the Tigers haven't done since winning four straight from 1979-82, and it eliminates a need for scoreboard-watching Saturday night. If Princeton defeats Dartmouth in Hanover, which has historically been one of the Ivy's toughest places to play, the Tigers will have clinched the outright title and their seventh trip to the NCAA Championships.

CHAMPIONS! Princeton sweeps Harvard, Cornell sweeps Yale, and the Tigers are assured at least a share of the title. pic.twitter.com/sM2n0CgoDF
— PrincetonVolley (@PrincetonVolley) November 11, 2017

Reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year Maggie O'Connell shined in the win; she recorded a match-best 18 kills, hit .500 on the evening, and added three digs and two blocks. Another teammate with a recent honor was equally strong, as reigning Ivy League Player of the Week Caroline Sklaver had 11 kills on 17 swings (.529), and added three blocks and two digs in the 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 win.

Ivy League assists leader Jessie Harris posted a double-double (44 assists, 10 digs), while fellow All-Ivy classmate Devon Peterkin added seven kills and 11 digs in the wins. Senior Maddie Huber, whose career is now guaranteed to extend at least one match beyond Saturday's season finale, led the Tigers with 16 digs, while freshman Alexa Underwood added a six-kill, eight-dig night.

The match turned fully in Princeton's favor midway through the second set, when Harvard held a 19-14 lead in attempts to even the match at 1-1. Underwood recorded a kill and then took over on the service line, where she kept Princeton in a rotation that put together a 9-0 run. The Tigers would close that set 25-22, matched that score in the third, and then found out that Cornell swept Yale to assure the Tigers another Ivy title.

All is not finished yet. Should Princeton fall to Dartmouth and Yale defeat Columbia in New York City, the Bulldogs would tie Princeton for the Ivy title, and the two teams would meet in New Haven the following weekend in a one-match playoff for the Ivy League title.

Princeton knows it will play at least once more after tomorrow. It's goal is to make sure that next match is in the NCAA Championships.