Despite Furious Rally, Princeton Falls At Yale In Five-Set Thriller

Friday, October 26

New Haven, Conn.

6:00 PM

Princeton University

14-6, 7-2Ivy

Yale

14-4, 8-1Ivy

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Princeton	23	15	25	25	12	2
Yale	25	25	15	23	15	3

Princeton University women's volleyball vs. Brown, Princeton, NJ, September 28, 2018.

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Despite Furious Rally, Princeton Falls At Yale In Five-Set Thriller

October 26, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Princeton and Yale gave a national audience a taste of the high-quality play that comes from the top two teams in the Ivy League. Now the Tigers will need somebody from the rest of the league to provide a little added help as they pursue a fourth straight Ivy title.

The three-time reigning Ivy champions rallied from a 2-0 deficit with a pair of brilliant sets, but the host Yale Bulldogs held on for the the 3-2 win with a 15-12 fifth-set victory in a match shown live on ESPNU. Princeton fought off two match balls to stay alive in the finale, but a Samantha Bray kill secured the sixth straight win for Yale.

This is far from unchartered territory for Princeton; last season, the Tigers lost the second regular-season meeting with Yale and found themselves two back with five to play, but they made up the ground and defeated Yale in a playoff match to return to the NCAA tournament. Princeton will head into Saturday's 5 pm match with Brown facing a 1-match deficit in league play with five to go.

Reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Maggie O'Connell was dominant for Princeton; she had 22 kills and three blocks, and she hit .439 for the match. Three-time Ivy League Player of the Week Devon Peterkin added 16 kills and 11 digs, while middle Clare Lenihan added 12 kills. Junior setter Jessie Harris had 56 assists and 17 digs for Princeton, while freshman Cameron Dames had 18 digs for the Tigers.

Princeton was in a tight third set before going on an 8-0 run to break open a big lead in a 25-15 win. A Peterkin kill and a solo block by Caroline Sklaver forced a fifth set, but Yale used a 3-0 run late to grab a 14-10 lead and eventually grab the win.