Reigning Ivy League Champion Tigers Face Daunting 2017 Opener At Beantown Challenge

Friday, September 1

Chestnut Hill, Mass.

11:00 AM

Princeton University

Boston College

Senior co-captain Kelly Matthews and the Princeton Tigers head to Boston for the Beantown Challenge this weekend.

Photo by: Aaron Cornia

Reigning Ivy League Champion Tigers Face Daunting 2017 Opener At Beantown Challenge

August 30, 2017 | Women's Volleyball

2015 was great. 2016 was even better.

And neither of them mean anything right now. The new season has finally arrived, and Princeton is ready to chase something special again.

The two-time reigning Ivy League champion Princeton women's volleyball team will open its 2017 season this weekend in Boston with three matches in the Beantown Challenge, including a Friday morning showdown with the host Boston College Eagles. Princeton will also play North Texas Friday at 5 pm, and it will return to the court Saturday for a 2 pm showdown against Bryant.

Live stats will be available for all matches by using this link.

Princeton is coming off a historic 2016 season, when it claimed its 16th Ivy League championship in dominant fashion. The Tigers returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007, and they placed five players on the All-Ivy League team, including a trio of sophomores (Jessie Harris, Maggie O'Connell, and Devon Peterkin). O'Connell became the sixth Princeton Tiger to earn Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors, and she joined both Player of the Year Cara Mattaliano '17 and Brittany Ptak '17 on the first team. Both Harris and Peterkin were second-team honorees, and they helped lead Princeton to a 13-1 sprint through the Ivy League.

Replacing both the talent and leadership of Mattaliano and Ptak will be a challenge for Sabrina King, the two-time Ivy League Coach of the Year, but she believes she has two terrific leaders this season in senior co-captains Maddie Huber and Kelly Matthews. Both were important contributors to a Tiger squad that won 26 consecutive sets at one point during the Ivy League season.

Follow GoPrincetonTigers.com throughout the weekend for full updates on the Beantown Challenge. You can also follow the team directly on Twitter or Instagram at @PrincetonVolley.