Women’s volleyball finishes Cherry & White Classic 2–1

Princeton’s women’s volleyball (7–4 overall) had a lot of positive takeaways from its three-game weekend at the Cherry & White Classic at McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia. Princeton defeated New Hampshire (4–10) on Friday and Maryland (9–3) on Saturday before falling to Temple (3–9).

Against New Hampshire, Princeton dropped the first set 22–25, but won the next three to win the match. Junior right side hitter Maggie O’Connell, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, led the Tigers with 18 kills, and was supported by sophomore middle blocker Clare Lenihan and senior middle blocker Nnenna Ibe, who combined for 22 kills and eight blocks.

The real key to Princeton’s victory was its defense, which recorded 96 digs in the win. Freshman defensive specialist Cameron Dames led with 28 digs, and sophomore outside hitter Alexa Underwood contributed 23 digs of her own.

The next match took place at 2 p.m. on Saturday as Princeton took on Maryland, its second Big Ten opponent of the year. Princeton successfully knocked off Northwestern (10–2) in the season opener, but won an even more thrilling match against the Terrapins three sets to two.

The Tigers won the first two sets, but Maryland clawed back, erasing Princeton’s lead by winning the third and fourth sets. In the final set, Princeton gained a 14–12 advantage before Maryland won the next two points to tie it up. Lenihan won the next point for Princeton with her 13th kill of the match, before Maryland lost the set 16–14 on a hitting error.

Junior outside hitter Devon Peterkin led Princeton’s effort with 16 kills and 20 digs in the match, while O’Connell added 14 kills and hit an efficient .303. Senior middle blocker Caroline Sklaver added six blocks while junior setter Jessie Harris contributed 60 assists in the win.

In the next game against Temple, a 3–1 loss, head coach Sabrina King ’01 used most of the reserves after the tiring thriller against Maryland. Still, the Tigers won the first set handily, 25–18, before dropping the next three sets. The second and third sets were close, as Temple edged the Tigers 28–26 and 25–23.

Princeton led Temple 5–3 in aces, but committed eight more errors, the difference in the fourth set. Sklaver led the Tigers with 17 kills and two aces. Junior outside hitter Natasha Skov added 16 kills and Ibe led the team with six of Princeton’s eight blocks in the game.

After gaining confidence in the Maryland victory, the Tigers look to be in good shape headed into next weekend, when they’ll begin the Ivy League season against rival Penn (3–8) back in Philadelphia. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ at 7 p.m.