Princeton-Yale II: First Place On The Line, ESPNU In The House

Princeton-Yale showdowns over the last couple of years have captured the attention of the Ivy League. On Friday night, it will have the opportunity to capture a national audience.

ESPNU will televise an Ivy League volleyball match for the first time ever this Friday at 6 pm, as three-time defending Ivy League champion Princeton will head to New Haven, Conn., for a showdown against the league's hottest team, Yale. Both squads enter Friday with matching 7-1 Ivy marks, while only one other Ivy League team (Cornell, 5-3) has a better than .500 record.

While there will still be five matches remaining in the season — more than enough time to see a wild swing in the standings last year — Friday's winner will clearly have the pole position for the remainder of the championship race.

Princeton entered last season having lost nine straight matches in New Haven, but the Tigers bounced back with a 3-1 regular season win early in the 2017 season. Yale avenged it with a 3-0 victory in Princeton, which gave the Bulldogs a two-match lead with five to play. Princeton made up the ground with a stellar finish, and then proved its first win wasn't a fluke by going back to New Haven and posting a 3-0 victory over Yale in the Ivy League playoff match.

Princeton took Round 1 in this series on Sept. 29, as reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Maggie O'Connell recorded a match-high 21 kills and hit .441 to lead Princeton to a tight 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 25-14 win in Dillon Gym. Clare Lenihan, who made her first career start against Yale, handled the pressure remarkably with 18 kills and six blocks, and three-time Ivy League Player of the Week Devon Peterkin added 13 kills and 15 digs in the win.

The offense hit .315 that match, and it was led by sophomore setter Jessie Harris, who currently ranks fifth in the NCAA with 11.73 assists per set. The two-time All-Ivy League standout ranks fifth at Princeton in career assists (2,384), and she has a 4-2 career record against Yale.

Sam Ravech and Jennifer Hoffman will call the match on ESPNU, and you can also watch the live video stream here. Princeton will follow the Yale match with a Saturday showdown at Brown, which you can watch on ESPN+ at 5 pm. Live stats for both the Yale and Brown matches are also available.

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