Women's Volleyball Outlasts Yale in Five Set Thriller in Ivy Tournament Final

Saturday, November 22

Princeton, N.J.

6:00 PM

Princeton University

18-6,11-3Ivy League

#3 Seed Yale

15-9,10-4Ivy League

Yale

Princeton

Women's Volleyball Outlasts Yale in Five Set Thriller in Ivy Tournament Final

November 22, 2025 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. – After a thrilling five set battle in the Ivy League Tournament final, the No. 1 seed Princeton University women's volleyball team earned the conference's automatic qualifier bid to the NCAA Tournament after outlasting No. 3 seed Yale, 3-2 (21-25, 25-16, 18-25, 25-21, 15-10) inside Dillon Gymnasium Saturday night.

The NCAA Tournament appearance will be the Tigers' ninth in history and fourth under Head Coach Sabrina King. It will mark Princeton's first appearance since 2019.

In addition, the Tigers won the 2025 regular season title outright, the program's 21st in history and seventh under King.

Lucia Scalamandre was dominant, recording a match-high 20 kills on a .515 hitting percentage and a match-high five blocks. Valerie Nutakor tallied a double-double with 18 kills and 13 digs, while Erin McNair also finished with a double-double as she compiled 16 kills and 12 digs. Sydney Draper handed out a match-high 52 assists and added 11 digs, three blocks and two service aces. Sydney Bold tallied a team-high 14 digs, six assists and a match-high four service aces.

The first set was played to a stalemate at 10-10, but the Bulldogs took a 15-12 edge. Princeton battled back to tie it at 19-19, but Yale went on a 5-0 run that propelled it to a 25-21 first set triumph.

Princeton took a 9-8 lead in what was a close start to the second set. A kill by Nutakor ignited a 4-0 run that swung the momentum Princeton's way and put the Tigers ahead, 13-8. The Tiger continued to extend their lead, with a kill by Draper then a Bold service ace giving Princeton set point at 24-15. McNair put down the kill on set point as the Tigers tied the match, 1-1, after earning a 25-16 victory in the second set.

The Tigers and Bulldogs traded points to begin the third set, with Yale holding a slight lead at 14-13. A 3-0 run by the Bulldogs put Yale in front, 17-13, and the Tigers could not overcome the deficit as the Bulldogs prevailed over the Tigers, 25-18.

After jumping out to a 9-7 lead, a service error by Yale led a 5-0 Princeton run that saw the Tigers surge ahead, 14-7. While the Bulldogs were able to narrow the deficit back down to three at 22-19, Princeton held on for the 25-21 win in the fourth set, setting the match to a decisive fifth set.

A pair of early McNair kills along with a kill by Scalamandre set the tone in the fifth set as the Tigers raced out to a 3-0 lead. Another 3-0 run, this time including two Scalamandre kills and a McNair kill, gave Princeton match point at 14-7. While Yale was able to narrow the deficit by three, McNair closed it out with an emphatic kill to give the Tigers the 15-10 fifth set win.

Up Next
The Tigers will learn their opponent and location for the NCAA Tournament during the selection show which takes place at 6 p.m. on Nov. 30. The selection show will be broadcast live on NCAA.com.