Balanced Attack Leads Volleyball Past Howard 3-1, But Iowa Closes Weekend With Win

Saturday, September 16

Washington, D.C.

12:00 PM

Princeton University

7-2

Howard

2-10

Howard

Princeton

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Balanced Attack Leads Volleyball Past Howard 3-1, But Iowa Closes Weekend With Win

September 16, 2017 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year Maggie O'Connell led Princeton with 13 kills and hit .375, while classmates Devon Peterkin and Natasha Skov added 11 kills apiece to lead Princeton to a 3-1 victory over Howard during the second match of the American Volleyball Challenge. The Tigers closed the tournament by dropping a 3-0 match to weekend champion Iowa, which only has two losses on the season, including one to NCAA champion Stanford.

Princeton was highly efficient against Howard, hitting .266 for the match and .379 in the clinching fourth set. Junior middle Nnenna Ibe continues to gain comfort in the offense, recording five kills on 10 swings without an error, while fellow middle Caroline Sklaver added seven kills. Setter Jessie Harris had 42 assists and a team-high 13 digs, while Peterkin and senior co-captains Maddie Huber and Kelly Matthews each had double-digits digs for a Tiger defense that never allowed Howard to get on track. Ibe was also a big part of the defense, as she had a season-best seven blocks in the win.

Head coach Sabrina King was able to see the majority of her roster compete against the Hawkeyes, and Sklaver produced another stellar effort with nine kills on 13 swings without an error (.692). Skov also had nine kills, while O'Connell added seven. Harris paced the offense with 27 assists, while Huber had 11 digs.

Princeton will now turn its attention on Ivy League play, which begins Friday night (7 pm) in Dillon Gym against the Penn Quakers. Princeton is the two-time defending Ivy League champion, and it has won 20 of its last 21 regular season conference matches, dating back to the middle of the 2015 season. Admission is free in Dillon Gym, and you can watch the match live on the Ivy League Digital Network.