NCAA Tournament to Open for Women's Volleyball Against #4 Seed USC

Thursday, December 4

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 PM PT / 10:00 pm ET

Princeton University

#4 Seed USC

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NCAA Tournament to Open for Women's Volleyball Against #4 Seed USC

December 02, 2025 | Women's Volleyball

Match 25: Princeton (18-6, 11-3) at #4 Seed USC (24-6, 15-5) – 12/4, 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. PT
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PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton University women's volleyball team will make its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance when it faces #4 seed USC inside the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California, on Dec. 4 in the Round of 64.

Championship Tradition
The Tigers won their 21st Ivy League title in program history in 2025, finishing Ivy play with a 11-3 record to earn the conference championship outright. Princeton's 21 Ivy titles are the most of any Ivy program, with Yale's 14 coming in second. In addition, the Tigers also won 2025 Ivy League Tournament to secure the conference's automatic qualifier bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Head Coach Sabrina King
King is in her 14th season as head coach at Princeton. She has guided the Tigers to seven Ivy League titles, four NCAA Tournament appearances and has been named Ivy Coach of the Year four times. Throughout her tenure as head coach, King has coached five Ivy League Players of the Year and 44 All-Ivy honorees. A member of the Class of 2001 at Princeton, she won three Ivy titles as a player, was the 1999 Ivy Player of the Year and was a three-time All-Ivy selection.

Princeton at the NCAA Tournament
The Tigers' nine NCAA Tournament appearances are the second most of any Ivy program, only Yale has more with 10 appearances. Princeton most recently played at the NCAA Tournament in 2019, falling to No. 11 seed Penn State inside Rec Hall, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-19).

Princeton At The 2025 Ivy Tournament
The No. 1 seed Tigers took down No. 4 seed Brown in the semifinals 3-0 (25-21, 25-10, 25-16), before outlasting No. 3 seed Yale in the final, 3-2 (21-25, 25-16, 18-25, 25-21, 15-10).

Ivy Tournament Honors
Lucia Scalamandre was honored the Ivy Tournament Most Outstanding Player after averaging 3.75 kills-per-set on a .481 hitting percentage in addition to 0.88 blocks. Scalamandre delivered a dominant performance in the Ivy Tournament final, recording a career and match-high 20 kills on a .515 hitting percentage and a match-high five blocks. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Valerie Nutakor, who averaged 4.00 kills and 2.75 digs, and Erin McNair who also had averages of 4.00 kills and 2.75 digs.

Postseason Honors
Princeton received two major awards and four players were named All-Ivy. The Tigers' staff of Sarbina King, Dominique Mason and Dan Ford were named Coaching Staff of the Year and Sydney Draper Player of the Year. Draper was joined on the All-Ivy League First Team by Valerie Nutakor and Erin McNair, while Lucia Scalamandre and Erin McNair were named Second Team. Ella Bunde collected Academic All-Ivy League honors.

Three Different Ivy Rookies of The Week
Three Tigers have been honored as the Ivy League Rookie of the Week in 2025; Shelby Burriss on Oct. 27 and Oct. 13, Olivia Foye on Sept. 29 and Taylor Clarke on Sept. 8.

The National Top 20
Princeton currently ranks No. 13 in the nation in assists-per-set (13.17) and No. 16 in hitting percentage (.283).

Sensational Scalamandre
Lucia Scalamandre, a three-time All-Ivy honoree, currently ranks No. 5 among active career leaders in hitting percentage (.394). In 2025, she ranks No. 12 in the nation and No. 2 in the Ivy League in hitting percentage (.424), No. 5 in blocks-per-set (1.02), No. 9 in kills (2.87) and No. 9 in points (3.56).

Accurate Hitting
Scalamandre's .800 hitting percentage against Columbia on Oct. 18 tied the highest hitting percentage recorded by an Ivy League player in 2025. In addition, five out of the top 10 single game hitting percentages by an Ivy player this season have been from Scalamandre.

A National Assist Leader
Sydney Draper ranks No. 6 nationally and leads the Ivy League in assists-per-set (10.93). In addition, Draper ranks No. 12 among active career leaders in assists-per-set (10.27).

A Nation Leading Performance From Draper
Draper's 52 assists against the University of Pennsylvania on Sept. 26 were the most by any player in a three-set match in 2025.

Strong Senior Season From Nutakor
Valerie Nutakor ranks third in the Ivy League in kills-per-set (3.46) and fifth in points (3.73). In addition to being a career-high, Nutakor's 25 kills on Oct. 17 against Cornell are tied for the most kills in a match by an Ivy League player in 2025. Her 20 kills against Cornell on Nov. 8 were the most by an Ivy player in a three set match this season.

Big Impact From Bold
Sydney Bold ranks fifth in the Ivy League in digs-per-set (3.51).

First Year Impact
The Tigers' first years have quickly made an impact. Shelby Burriss ranks No. 7 in in the Ivy League in hitting percentage (.363). Burris also ranks No. 10 in the conference blocks (0.79) while Olivia Foye ranks No. 5 in digs (3.38).

California Connection
Along with Sabrina King, four Tigers are from the state of California; Sydney Bold (La Jolla), Sarah Hom (Torrance), Lucia Scalamandre (Topanga), Olivia Foye (Huntington Beach).

Scouting USC
The Trojans, who are ranked No. 14 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) rankings, are making a fourth consecutive appearance at the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament will be USC's 41st in history. The Trojans have a 25-6 record and went 15-5 in Big Ten play, earning of the 33 at-large berths into the NCAA Tournament. USC has won six national championships, including three NCAA titles (1981, 2002, 2003) and three AIAW championships (1976, 1977, 1980).

What Moving On Looks Like
Should the Tigers defeat the Trojans, they would face the winner of #5 seed BYU (22-8), who earned an at-large bid out of the BIG 12, and Cal Poly, who won the Big West, on Dec. 5 inside the Galen Center.