Women's Volleyball Outlasts ODU In Five Set Thriller

Friday, September 6

Villanova, Pa.

4:30 PM

Princeton University

1-0,0-0Ivy League

Old Dominion

3-2,0-0Sun Belt

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Old Dominion	25	15	19	27	12	2
Princeton	13	25	25	25	15	3

Women's Volleyball Outlasts ODU In Five Set Thriller

September 06, 2024 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Princeton University women's volleyball team opened the 2024 season on a high note Friday afternoon at the Villanova Tournament, outlasting Old Dominion in a five-set thriller, 3-2 (13-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-27, 15-12) inside the Jake Nevin Field House.

Junior Lucia Scalamandre led the way for Princeton, hitting .481 and tallying a team-high 15 kills. Additionally, she added four digs and three blocks. Junior Valerie Nutakor added 14 kills, three digs and two blocks while senior Shelby Fulton finished with a career-high 12 kills on a .345 hitting percentage and four blocks. Sophomore Sydney Draper recorded her 11th career double-double, tallying a match-high 42 assists and a team-high 13 digs, tying her career-high. Draper shared the team-high in digs with junior Ella Bunde, who also finished with a career-best 13. Defensively, sophomore Ava Harrington's eight blocks were a match and career-high. The last time a Tiger had more than seven blocks was Scalamandre against Yale on Nov. 5, 2022, when she tallied nine.

The first set was a dominant one for the Monarchs, as ODU raced out to an 11-3 advantage. Despite their best efforts, the Tigers were unable to make a dent in Old Dominion's lead. The Monarchs went on to win the first set, 25-13.

Princeton showed resilience in the second set, opening it with a sophomore Erin McNair service ace that sparked a 4-0 run. With the Tigers up 10-8, a kill by McNair ignited another 4-0 run that saw Princeton surge ahead, 14-8. The Tigers had one more 4-0 run in them; ahead 19-13, a kill by Harrington led their third 4-0 run of the set and put the Tigers up double digits, 23-12. A kill by Fulton gave Princeton set point before a setter dump by Draper sealed it for the Tigers, 25-15.

The third set began as a back-and-forth battle, but the Monarchs eventually took a 9-5 lead. Princeton responded with a 5-0 run led by a Scalamandre kill that saw the Tigers jump ahead, 11-10. Shortly after, a kill by Nutakor sparked a 4-0 run that put Princeton in front, 16-11. ODU was able to narrow the deficit to two at 21-19, but the Tigers closed the set out on a 4-0 run to go up 2-0 and triumph in the set, 25-19. Set point came courtesy of a Harrington and Draper double block.

The Monarchs jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the fourth set, but the Tigers would chip away and narrow the deficit to three at 16-13, following a 3-0 run sparked by a Nutakor and Harrington double block. Princeton would soon go on a 4-0 run and tie it up, 17-17, after a Chaney service ace. A Nutakor kill gave the Tigers match point at 24-23, but Princeton was unable to capitalize. Old Dominion went on to prevail, 27-25, sending the match five.

It was ODU that took an 8-6 lead in the fifth set, but a Nutakor kill followed by a Monarch attacking error and a Fulton kill leveled it up at 8-8. Old Dominion would retake the lead, 11-10, but a 4-0 Tiger run that included back-to-back Scalamandre kills and back-to-back McNair kills gave Princeton match point at 14-11. A bad set by ODU gave Princeton the set, 15-12, and the match, 3-2.

Up Next
The Tigers resume play at the Villanova Tournament at 11 a.m. ET tomorrow against Loyola Maryland (1-3).