Princeton Sweeps Host Wildcats, Tops Albany For 2-0 Start At The Villanova Tournament

Friday, September 8

Villanova, Pa.

1:30 PM

Princeton University

4-1

Villanova

4-3

Princeton

Villanova

Princeton Sweeps Host Wildcats, Tops Albany For 2-0 Start At The Villanova Tournament

September 08, 2017 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

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LIVE STATS: Princeton vs. Connecticut

Princeton saved three game balls in the second set and powered through the middle of the third set en route to an impressive sweep in the opening match of the 2017 Villanova Tournament. The Tigers returned to the court two hours later and improved to 5-1 with a three-set sweep of Albany; the Tigers will face Connecticut Saturday at 2 pm in the weekend finale.

PRINCETON 3, VILLANOVA 0
Sophomore Natasha Skov followed up her career night against Seton Hall (21 kills) with a 10-kill, eight-dig, four-block effort, while classmate Maggie O'Connell added nine kills and three blocks in the win; O'Connell came up huge late in the second set, when Villanova threatened to even the match at 1-1. Following a service error at 24-22, O'Connell killed balls at 24-23 and 25-24 to fight off two set points. Sophomore setter Jessie Harris (27 assists, 5-0-7) gave Princeton a 26-25 lead with a timely swing, and middle Caroline Sklaver put down the next point with one of her eight kills.

Sklaver showed the form that landed her on the Beantown Challenge all-tournament team. The junior killed eight of her 17 swings (.412), and she added three blocks. Senior co-captain Maddie Huber paced the defense with 13 digs, while fellow co-captain Kelly Matthews added three kills and seven digs. Nnenna Ibe had three kills and three blocks, and she had one of the most important swings of the match; after Villanova cut a 22-16 deficit in half, Ibe followed a timeout by killing a middle ball to reclaim momentum for the Tigers.

And this one closes it out! Tigers move to 4-1 on the season with an impressive sweep of Villanova! We play Albany at 5. pic.twitter.com/Le7XCrVGUS
— PrincetonVolley (@PrincetonVolley) September 8, 2017

PRINCETON 3, ALBANY 0
O'Connell, Skov, and Sklaver each recorded double-digit kills and Princeton overcame a tough first set to post a second straight 3-0 win to complete a perfect Friday at the Villanova Tournament.

O'Connell led all players with 16 kills and hit .343 for the match, while Skov posted her first career double-double with 15 kills and 15 digs, in Princeton's fifth win of the season. Sklaver hit .425 with 12 kills, while Harris recorded 50 assists in the 28-26, 25-20, 25-21 win. Huber (13) and freshman Lauren Flaming (12) combined for 25 digs and helped limit Albany to a .210 hitting percentage.