Women's Volleyball to Open Season at Bucknell Invitational

Saturday, September 2

Lewisburg, Pa.

12:00 PM

Princeton University

Niagara

Women's Volleyball to Open Season at Bucknell Invitational

August 30, 2023 | Women's Volleyball

Match One: Princeton (0-0) vs. Niagara (0-3), 9/2 – 12 p.m. ET
Match Two: Princeton (0-0) vs. Bucknell (1-2), 9/2 – 7 p.m. ET
ESPN+: Niagara | Bucknell
Live Stats: Niagara | Bucknell

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton University women's volleyball team officially opens its 2023 season Saturday at the Bucknell Invitational, taking on Niagara and the host Bison inside Davis Gym.

The Pursuit of Ivy Title No. 20
The Tigers aim to continue its tradition of success in 2023 and capture a 20th Ivy League Championship. A conference championship in 2023 would also be the Tigers' second-straight and third in the past four seasons. Princeton's 19 Ivy titles are the most by any team in the conference, with Yale's 12 coming in second.

Head Coach Sabrina King
A three-time Ivy Coach of the Year (2019, 2016, 2015), King has guided Princeton to five Ivy titles (2022, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015). King has also coached four Ivy Players of the Year and spent seven seasons as an assistant coach, winning conference championships in 2007 and 2004. As a player, King won three Ivy titles, was named All-Ivy League on three occasions and was the 1999 Ivy Player of the Year.

The Returning Ivy Rookie of the Year
Lucia Scalamandre, the 2022 Ivy Rookie of the Year, will look to build off a dominant freshman campaign. Also named ECAC Rookie of the Year and First Team All-Ivy, Scalamandre was a seven-time Ivy Rookie of the Week in 2022. She led the Ivy League in total blocks (104), a number that also ranked third all-time in program history for most blocks in a season. Scalamandre ranked first in the Ivy League, 39th in the nation in blocks per set (1.27) and had 10 matches with at least five blocks. In addition, Scalamandre ranked third on the team in points (266) and points per set (3.24).

The Returners
Joining Scalamandre as a returner will be seniors Kathleen Bishop, Julia Cabri and Maya Satchell, juniors Gracie Wood, Shelby Fulton, Nicole Dankinova and Mariah Haislip, and sophomores Valerie Nutakor and Ella Bunde.

Five Talented Newcomers
Sydney Bold, Kamryn Chaney, Ava Harrington, Erin McNair and Sydney Draper will be making their college volleyball debuts at the Bucknell Tournament.

A Summer of Service
Erin McNair spent two weeks in Kenya over the summer with HEART (Health Education Africa Resource Team), a faith-based humanitarian organization that focuses on empowering vulnerable women, children, and youth in Africa to thrive beyond HIV. The WEEP mother's (Women's Equality Empowerment Program) is one of the many programs that HEART has in which they provide single, vulnerable mother with skills and resources to overcome their current situations to provide for them kids and themselves. The experience was so impactful for McNair that she has decided to take Swahili at Princeton to further pursue the culture in hopes of returning in the future.

Summer Standouts
McNair wasn't the only Tiger to have a busy summer. Kathleen Bishop worked at the German Aerospace Center, Ella Bunde studied abroad at the London School of Economics, Gracie Wood was a Clinical Science Intern at the Topcon Healthcare Innovation Center (THINC) division with Topcon Healthcare, Mariah Haislip was a Summer Fellow with J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management – U.S. Private Bank, Nicole Dankinova interned with Morocco World News, Shelby Fulton took an online course on machine learning and did personal coding projects, Valerie Nutakor worked as a patient safety assistant at a hospital while obtaining an EMT certification and Julia Cabri was an intern with Exabeam, a cyber security company in the Bay Area.

Scouting The Opponents
Niagara has an 0-3 record on the season, falling 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-18) to Robert Morris on Aug. 27 in Newark, Delaware. Before taking on the Tigers, the Purple Eagles will face Cornell on Sept. 1 at 4 p.m. at the Bucknell Invitational. Niagara ended the 2022 season with a 10-20 record along with a 7-11 record in MAAC play.

The Bison have a 1-2 record in 2023, and most recently defeated Gardner Webb 3-1 on Aug. 26 in Lynchburg, Virginia. Prior to its match against Princeton, Bucknell will host William & Mary at 7 p.m. on Sept. 1. In 2022 the Bison finished with a 15-11 overall record and 8-8 record in Patriot League play.