The Tigers hosted Brown (3–10 overall, 0–3 Ivy League) and Yale (8–3, 3–0) at Dillon Gymnasium this weekend in Ivy League play, sweeping Brown on Friday before falling to Yale the next day.
Against Brown, the Tigers avenged a loss to the Bears in the Ivy League tournament semifinals last year. The contest against Yale was a rivalry match for the Tigers, who have gone toe to toe with the Bulldogs the last two seasons. In 2022, both teams earned a share of the Ivy League regular season title, while the Bulldogs narrowly edged out the Tigers last season.
Draper comes up big in the sweep over Bruno
Princeton women’s volleyball earned their second Ivy League win of the season on Friday night after a dominant win over the Brown Bears in straight sets. After a slow start to the season and several losses to out-of-conference opponents, the Tigers looked to build momentum against the Bears, hoping to make a push for their second regular season Ivy League title in three seasons.
“I think we just really came together and finally played the way that we know we can,” junior libero Ella Bunde wrote to The Daily Princetonian.
After jumping out to a 4–1 lead in the first set, the Tigers found themselves in an early back-and-forth. A kill from senior outside hitter Shelby Fulton — who recorded a career-high six blocks in the game — gave the Tigers a 16–14 lead that they held onto for the rest of the set.
A kill from the star of the game, sophomore outside hitter Kamryn Chaney, won the set for the Tigers 26–24. Chaney led the match with 14 kills and the team with 10 digs, recording her seventh double-double of the season.
After a grueling first set, the Tigers came out firing in second with a 5–0 start. The Bears never managed to climb back as the Tigers soon found themselves up 16–8 after yet another Chaney kill.
S2: Princeton 16, Brown 8
— Princeton Women’s Volleyball (@PrincetonWVB) October 4, 2024
Kamryn Chaney crushes the ball to put Princeton up eight!
💻: https://t.co/cGevpZYQdA#NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/pjQnS7XLii
They would go on to win the set 25–15 in dominant fashion. Sophomore setter Sydney Draper recorded a match-high 30 assists against Brown.
With their back against the wall, the Bears seemed determined to extend the game to a fourth set as they started the third with a 3–1 run. The Tigers, however, had other plans, as they responded with a 4–0 run, and then a second, before finding themselves up 16–12 after a kill from Fulton.
S3: Princeton 16, Brown 12
— Princeton Women’s Volleyball (@PrincetonWVB) October 5, 2024
Another Shelby Fulton kill puts the Tigers ahead by four!
💻: https://t.co/cGevpZYQdA #NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/V6a0zFgtuE
The Bears would keep it close, but Princeton ultimately prevailed 25–23, completing the clean sweep of Brown. With the win, Head Coach Sabrina King is now three wins shy of 200 career wins with the Orange and Black.
“Brown is always a big game for us, and I think we were just really focused and motivated to win after losing to them in the tournament last year,” Bunde added. “We played like ourselves in that game, and I am proud of us for that.”
23 in a row for the Bulldogs
The last time the Bulldogs lost an Ivy League match was on Nov. 5, 2022. Since then, Yale has dominated the Ivy League, winning 23 games in a row, including two regular season titles and two Ivy League tournament titles.
“It’s an ongoing rivalry, because since I have been here, we have always been fighting Yale for the overall season Ivy League Champions title, so when we play Yale, it is always a super competitive and intense game,” Bunde told the ‘Prince.’
Yale showed its class early on, going up 8–2 in the first set and setting the tone early. A block by junior Lucia Scalamandre capped off a 5–0 run for Princeton, who cut the deficit to one.
In a set that was decided by runs from each side, Yale went on a 9–4 run after trailing 12–10 to take a commanding 19–16 lead. Despite a set that saw Chaney finish with seven kills, the Tigers dropped set one 25–22.
Determined to avoid a two-set deficit, Princeton put their foot on the gas in the second set from the get-go. After a service ace from Wood to put the Tigers up 10–6, Yale called a timeout.
S2: Princeton 10, Yale 6
— Princeton Women’s Volleyball (@PrincetonWVB) October 5, 2024
Service ace!
Gracie Wood puts the Tigers ahead by four!
💻: https://t.co/xaz6aFHkJ7#NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/lfAQw5lF5a
Shortly after, a great serve from first-year defensive specialist Nicki Gaito set up a block for Scalamandre to put the Tigers up 17–12. Junior outside hitter Valerie Nutakor put the icing on the cake and helped seal the set for the Tigers who came out on top 25–19.
The second set loss was just the 11th set the Bulldogs have dropped over the last 23 games. The Bulldogs showed their resilience, though, starting up 14–4 in the third set, putting the set out of reach for the Tigers early on. Despite efforts from the Tigers to make a run, the Bulldogs shut down any chances of a Tiger comeback and earned a 25–16 victory in the third set.
The fourth set proved to be the most heartbreaking for the Tigers as they continuously led to the start, but the Bulldogs never let the lead exceed two points. Up 7–5, then 10–8, and then 13–11, the Bulldogs tied it back up each time.
Down 16–14, the highlight came with Princeton cutting the deficit to one after an astounding 40-second rally that brought the crowd at Dillon to its feet. Yale continued to come up with big plays when it mattered most after a kill from outside hitter Isabella Mendoza put them up 19–15.
What a rally 🤩#NCAAWVB x 🎥 ESPN+ / @PrincetonWVB pic.twitter.com/2J98x07sYc
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) October 6, 2024
Princeton continued to rally, as Chaney recorded yet another kill to put the hosts up 24–23 and a point away from forcing a decisive fifth set. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the Bulldogs came back once again and won 28–26 after a hit from Chaney went wide right.
Yale outside hitter Payton Bryan posted a career-high 19 kills and was named the Ivy League Player of the Week following the career performance. For Princeton, it was Chaney who recorded over 20 kills for the fourth time this season. Her 24 kills against Yale were the fifth most in the NCAA this season during a four-set match.
With 10 games remaining in Ivy League regular season play, the Tigers will need to finish in the top four to make the Ivy League tournament. The Tigers will have games against the Crimson (8–4, 3–0) and the Big Green (8–5, 1–2) this weekend as they look to make a push up the Ivy League standings. The winner of the Ivy League regular season is given hosting privileges for the Ivy League tournament.
“I think we had a good weekend this past weekend and are just looking to carry that over into this weekend against Harvard,” Bunde noted.
“Harvard is always a good opponent and we respect them a lot so I think just focusing on our side of the net and playing like we know we can against them is our goal for this weekend.”
Diego Uribe is a head editor for the Sports section at the ‘Prince.’
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate editor for the Sports section at the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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