Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
2-3,0-0Ivy League
Seton Hall
5-3,0-0Big East
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seton Hall | 25 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 10 | 2 |
| Princeton | 22 | 25 | 23 | 27 | 15 | 3 |
Wild Comeback Win Over Seton Hall Highlights Tigers’ Saturday Split
September 12, 2026 | Women's Volleyball
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Using 22 kills from senior Erin McNair in a career performance, the Princeton University women's volleyball team rallied from a two-sets-to-one deficit to defeat Seton Hall in five sets on Saturday afternoon at the XFINITY Center Pavilion. Set scores were 22-25, 25-21, 23-25, 27-25, 15-10.
In the nightcap, the Tigers (2-4) were stymied by the host Terrapins (6-1) as Maryland came away with a straight-set victory (17-25, 15-25, 20-25) to spoil Princeton's bid for a perfect weekend.
Princeton vs. Seton Hall
It was Jackie Onyechi again who came through with the first kill of the afternoon for the Tigers, putting them on the board first. Seton Hall was hitting .500 from the floor and led 12-8 at the first whistle. It was back-and-forth from there, as the Tigers stayed within a point at 13-12 following a 4-1 run. A combo block from Erin McNair and Shelby Burriss tied the set up at 13-all. It was 15-14 in favor of the Pirates at the media timeout. Princeton never trailed by more than three points the rest of the set, and McNair tallied three kills to square the set back up at 22-22 before Seton Hall claimed the final three points to take Set 1, 25-22. McNair led all players with seven kills in that first set.
Princeton took a 5-1 lead to open the second set, thanks to Onyechi's offensive and defensive prowess. The lead ballooned to seven after back-to-back attack errors from Samantha Shelton and Emilee Fuller, prompting Seton Hall to call time down 12-5. Kills from Ashtyn Sims and Ava Harrington had the Tigers ahead 15-7 at the media timeout. Princeton was on fire, leading by eight points at 17-9, before the Pirates took three straight points to make it a 17-12 set, prompting a Tigers timeout.
Seton Hall did a great job of closing the gap on Princeton again, trailing by two points at 23-21 before the Tigers notched the final two points via McNair's 14th kill of the day and a long rally that ended on an attack error by the Pirates' Madison Loiselle.
Princeton had several chances to seize control of the match, trading points with Seton Hall throughout a tightly contested set. Neither team was able to grab breathing room for the first 29 points. McNair and Draper kept the Tigers within striking distance, and Princeton even fought back from a late deficit to tie it at 23-23. But Seton Hall closed it out on back-to-back points—a Shelton kill followed by a Daria Safian putaway—to escape 25-23 and take a 2-1 lead.
Princeton took an early 5-3 advantage in the fourth set following a block by Harrington and Burriss and a kill for the former—her 10th of the day. The Tigers led by as many as seven points at 17-10 following another kill from McNair, but the Pirates used an 11-4 push to tie it up at 21-all before Sims put down a kill to take a one-point edge. Princeton had match point three times, finishing off a 27-25 victory—off a Burriss-Draper block—to force a decisive fifth set.
The Pirates began the fifth with a two-point cushion up 5-3, but the Tigers quickly flipped the script by reeling off six straight points—the final one coming on a yellow card against Seton Hall—to take a 9-5 lead. A Samantha Shelton kill had the Pirates back even with the Tigers at 10-10, but Princeton closed the set on a 5-0 run to complete the comeback and win in five.
Of Note
- A day removed from a 16-kill performance against Saint Peter's, senior Erin McNair registered a career-high 22 kills in the five-set victory over Seton Hall. She hit .375 for the match and also had six digs.
- Ashtyn Sims fell two kills shy of her career-high 17, set in Friday's win over the Peacocks, finishing with 15 to go along with 12 digs.
- Ava Harrington also recorded double-digit kills (13), adding five block assists.
- Jackie Onyechi was one kill away from double figures, registering nine with five block assists.
- Shelby Burriss put down nine kills in 12 attempts (.583).
- Sydney Draper had herself quite the day with a season-high 56 assists, adding 10 digs to her stat sheet.
- Sydney Bold finished with a team-high 14 digs, also tallying 10 assists.
- The Tigers hit .357 for the match, including .371 in the first set, .400 in the second, .382 in the third, and .353 in the fourth.
Princeton vs. Maryland
The Terps notched the first three points of the match, extending their run to 5-2 on an attack error by Ashtyn Sims. A kill by Shelby Burriss cut it back to two points, but Maryland scored four in a row to make Princeton call a timeout down 9-3.
A torrid stretch for the Terps continued on a 6-2 push to lead 15-5 at the media timeout. The Tigers attempted to chip away at the Maryland lead, getting three kills each from Sarah Hom and Erin McNair to cut it to eight, but ultimately dropped the set 25-17.
Maryland began the second set the way it finished the first, scoring on Hom's attack error. Hom redeemed herself with a service ace to give Princeton its first lead of the night at 2-1. It was short-lived, however, as Maryland pulled back out to a 12-7 edge on a bad set by Erin McNair, sparking a 3-0 run before a Tiger timeout. The Terrapins led 15-9 at the media timeout.
Three more points allowed Maryland to double its lead at 18-9. The Tigers stopped the run with three straight points, but the Terps answered with three of their own to lead 21-12, prompting another Princeton timeout. Maryland closed it out 25-15 for a 2-0 match lead.
Taylor Clarke opened the third set with a kill off a set from Draper, giving Princeton a 1-0 lead. The Tigers briefly regained the lead at 3-2 on a Shelby Burriss kill, but were quickly swept up in an 8-1 Maryland run—capped by five straight points—that put the Terrapins ahead 10-4.
Princeton showed some late fight, trimming the deficit to 13-10 on Sydney Bold's service ace. Maryland pushed its lead to seven three separate times late in the set, going up 21-14 on Sydney Bryant's kill. Princeton scored six of the last ten points, but it was too little, too late— Maryland closed out a 25-20 set win to complete the sweep.
Of Note
- Erin McNair tallied double-digit kills (12) for the third consecutive match to close out the tournament. It's the first time she's accomplished that since putting together a streak of six straight matches in double figures from Oct. 4-24, 2025.
- Ashtyn Sims and Sarah Hom both finished with five kills.
- Taylor Clarke hit .429 with four kills in seven tries during her first action of the weekend.
- Sydney Draper finished with 24 assists and four digs.
- Sydney Bold had a match-high tying nine digs on defense.
- Bold, Hom, and Natalie Surges each recorded service aces. The Tigers failed to record one in the opening match vs. Seton Hall.
- Maryland was tough to slow down, hitting .374 as a team. Sydney Bryant led the way with 14 kills, with nine for Haley Melby and seven for Duru Gökçen.
- McNair and Sims were named to the All-Tournament team for their stellar performances.
Up Next
It's the home opener for Princeton on Friday, Sept. 18 as the Tigers host Temple at Dillon Gymnasium. The match will begin at 5 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required).
