Volleyball Opens Title Defense With Sweep At Penn

Friday, September 21

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

8-4, 1-0

Penn

3-9, 0-1

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Princeton	25	25	28	3
Penn	18	19	26	0

Photo by: Luke Lu

September 21, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Devon Peterkin knows how to make a first impression.

The junior was dominant in Princeton's 2018 opener this season, pouring in 13 kills without an error in a 3-0 victory over Northwestern, one of two Big 10 victories for the Tigers this season. The All-Ivy outside hitter was just as impressive in her Ivy League opener Friday night, as she posted 16 kills and 13 digs in a 25-18, 25-19, 28-26 win at the Palestra over Penn.

It was an extremely efficient performance for Princeton, which hit .264 for the match and saw its three leading hitters (Peterkin, Clare Lenihan and Maggie O'Connell) combine for 33 kills and only four errors in the sweep. Junior setter Jessie Harris paced the offense with 38 digs, while sophomore Alexa Underwood had a team-best 21 digs in the win.

Princeton was in control for the first two sets, but it had to fight off a set ball in the third in order to finish the sweep. A Peterkin kill got the Tigers to 27-26, and then the first ace of the night for Lenihan clinched the eighth win of the season for the Tigers.

Finishing in style! Clare Lenihan with the ace on match point to clinch the 3-0 win at Penn tonight! pic.twitter.com/6BVxKBQKdZ
— PrincetonVolley (@PrincetonVolley) September 22, 2018

Two freshmen making their Ivy League debut had big efforts on the defensive end. Starting libero Cameron Dames (13) and defensive specialist Grace Klepetka (9) combined for 22 digs in the win, part of an effort that limited Penn to only .185 hitting for the match.

Princeton will finally make its Dillon Gym debut next weekend when it hosts both Brown (Friday, 7) and Yale (Saturday, 5) in a pair of matches on the Ivy League Network. The Saturday showdown against Yale will be a rematch of the 2017 Ivy League playoff, a 3-0 win for Princeton in New Haven.