Hosting two home games at Dillon Gym this weekend, Princeton women’s volleyball (6–9 overall, 4–2 Ivy League) scored big wins against Ivy League rivals Harvard (8–6 overall, 3–2 Ivy League) on Friday and Dartmouth (9–6 overall, 2–3 Ivy League) on Saturday. The wins proved to be a great response following the 3–1 loss to Yale last week.
The Tigers Roar Over The Crimson
Despite entering the contest with an unblemished Ivy League record, the Crimson got off to a slow start. The margin of victory for both the first and second sets of the game were quite commanding for the Tigers; 25–14 and 25–18 respectively.
In the first set, a 6–0 run put the Tigers ahead 8–1. They then kept the Crimson from getting within striking distance, extending their advantage to 14–4 following a kill by junior Lucia Scalamandre, who was named Ivy League Player of the Week after a dominant weekend. The Tigers won the set with a double-digit margin of victory in impressive 25–14 fashion.
In the second set, although the Crimson jumped ahead to a 12–8 lead, the Tigers came back through another 6–0 run and went ahead 14–12. The Tigers built their advantage throughout and won the set 25–18 after a kill from Scalamandre sealed the set.
With a total of 12 tie scores and five lead changes, the third set was a different story, and the Tigers had to dig deep to come out with a victory. In an exciting back-and-forth affair, Princeton first ended up in front 7–4, though they were buoyed back when Harvard took a 13–10 lead. After a series of score changes and tied scores, the Crimson took a 24–21 lead, having three set-point opportunities.
Coming out of a timeout, however, the Tigers roared back, saving three consecutive set points to tie the game at 24–24. Then, after the Crimson got another kill, the Tigers got two more points before winning 27–25 off a kill from first-year Jackie Onyechi. Onyechi was named Ivy League rookie of the week for her performance across the weekend.
MATCH POINT.
— Princeton Women’s Volleyball (@PrincetonWVB) October 12, 2024
Despite trailing 24–12, the Tigers battle back to win the third set 27–25 and the earn the 3–0 sweep over the Crimson!#NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/Be1o9EWx0I
When discussing how the team needed to adjust in the third set, Kamryn Chaney told The Daily Princetonian that they needed to “scramble as much as possible” so “everybody [could] do [their] job and execute.”
“We talked about using hands, finding shots, and just having our side controlled, be consistent with that, try not to make too many errors, so that was, that was it — like the hustle,” Chaney added.
Chaney had an impressive 15 kills throughout the match. She also had nine digs along with three service aces.
“It was so exciting to beat them in three, like, complete sets,” Chaney noted. “They didn’t get a set on us, and they were undefeated. So that kind of just shows us what the potential of this team is. I’m so excited! We’re gonna continue working hard, doing our best, and going all out.”
“We were really locked in, and I think it really paid off well,” Head Coach Sabrina King ’01 noted. “I think we played really good defense all around, locking in and floor defense.”
Looking forward to the season, King explained that she wanted to see more of what she saw at the Harvard game and encouraged her team to play hard for every single point.
Princeton Defeats Dartmouth in Front of an Enthusiastic Crowd
In what was King’s 199th victory, the Tigers picked up where they had left off against the Crimson and gained another important victory on Saturday against the Big Green.
Unlike the game against the Crimson, the first and second sets in this game were quite close, with the Tigers winning both 25–23.
In the first set, Princeton first had an 8–5 lead, before extending it to 11–6. Dartmouth, however, responded with a run of their own, scoring five consecutive points to tie the set at 11–11. Though there were only two lead changes in the first set, the score was tied 12 times, showing the close back-and-forth nature of the set. With the score tied 23–23, the Tigers were able to get a set point through senior Shelby Fulton which they then converted to get a 25–23 victory in the first set.
The second set really showcased the strong mentality of the Princeton team. The Big Green initially rushed to a 5–1 lead and then extended to 11–3, leaving the Tigers with an eight-point deficit. After a timeout, the team’s mentality changed and they stormed back to first cut Dartmouth’s lead to 12–9 and then closed the gap to 14–13. The Tigers then took a 17–16 lead.
Sophomore Sydney Draper, who had a match-high 47 assists, spoke to the ‘Prince’ regarding how the team was able to respond to the deficit and attributed the comeback to the team’s strong commitment to one another.
“[Dartmouth] had a really good server, a couple really good servers behind the line during that run that they had. But I think every huddle, we just, like, looked at each other had confidence in each other,” she shared. “So even though we were struggling in that moment, I think we felt the belief from each other, and that really brought us back into the game.”
“It was a lot of just trusting each other, trusting ourselves into our jobs,” Onyechi echoed. “We hustle and work on this at practice all the time. So I’m glad that it really paid off.”
The Tigers ultimately built a 22–19 lead, and although the Big Green made it close again with the score 24–23, the Tigers won the set following a kill by Chaney.
In the third set, Princeton took an early lead, but Dartmouth stormed back and built a 14–11 lead. From there, the Big Green overtook the third set, extending their lead to 20–14 and then winning 25–16.
The fourth set, however, belonged to the Tigers from the beginning, as they took an early advantage and capitalized on it. It was the only set as well with no ties or lead changes, truly showcasing how the Tigers roared back from the third.
A 4–0 run led by an Onyechi kill put the Tigers ahead 10–3, and they continued to press, extending their lead to 16–7. Chaney added her 17th kill of the game for the Tigers to earn a 20–12 advantage and Lucia Scalamandre earned two consecutive kills to make the score 24–15 in favor of the Tigers, scoring the winning point as Princeton won the set 25–17, ending the match.
Onyechi ended the game with her career-high in kills, at 13 on a .632 hitting percentage in addition to six blocks. “I was so excited. I was so hyped for how my team was able to help me, like, get to this point. Honestly, I’ve been working really hard to practice, and so has everybody else, and I’m just so glad,” she shared with the ‘Prince.’
Next up for the Tigers is Columbia (3–10 overall, 0–5 Ivy League) on Friday at Levien Gymnasium in New York. Looking towards the game, Draper said, “I think everybody’s itching to get back on the road again. Columbia is always a super fun environment. Great energy every time. It’ll be another really fun opportunity to just show what we can do again, because I think we have even more to give. So yeah, we’re looking forward to it.”
Keyan Vojdani is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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