The Princeton Tigers came out with their claws blazing against the Quakers on Friday, and Penn left the Palestra wounded after falling 3-0 in its Ivy League opener.
After Penn (6-5, 0-1 Ivy) fell at the hands of Temple last Tuesday, the Quakers were eager to shake off the loss against their historic and evenly matched rival Princeton to kick off Ivy play.
The two teams’ equal footing was evident throughout the entire first set, during which both teams fought tooth and nail. There were 22 ties, nine different lead changes, and a new program record for the highest-scoring set in a match before Penn fell to Princeton 37-35. But the first set also saw elite connections between Penn’s setters and sophomore outside hitter Ellie Siskin, whose strong defensive presence at the net helped keep the Quakers in some exhausting rallies and shut down Princeton’s offense.
Siskin’s performance was most noted by her ability to put the ball away in high-pressure scenarios. At one point in the first set, Siskin’s kill broke the 22-22 tie. She finished the night with 11 kills on 22 attacks, hitting 0.318.
Siskin’s firepower was not enough to stop the outstanding performances from Princeton’s outside hitters Valerie Nutakor and Erin McNair. Nutakor made zero errors against the Red and Blue, notching a stellar 0.357 hitting percentage. McNair finished with 17 kills and 12 digs.
Fresh off a taxing first-set loss, Penn was eager to keep fighting against the Tigers in the second set, starting with an early 4-2 lead. But Princeton middle blocker Ava Harrington made it difficult for the Quakers to stay in rhythm.
Although Penn may have been narrowly trailing behind the Tigers, Penn’s middle row ensured the Quakers never got too far behind. Freshman middle blocker Haley Kerstetter scored eight kills on 15 attacks with no errors. Additionally, sophomore middle blocker Adell Murray helped the Quakers fight back against the Tigers throughout the second set with her two blocks, notching four total for the day. Three consecutive ties put fans on the edge of their seats. Ultimately, the Tigers claimed the second set 25-21 off a 6-0 run that the Quakers couldn't fight off.
“A huge takeaway from tonight’s match is that we were very consistent in sets one and two. … We were able to bounce back from any errors we made, and that was really nice to see,” Murray said. “But mentally, we kind of put ourselves into a deficit.”
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Unfortunately for the Red and Blue, that mental deficit continued into the third set, which was defined by untimely errors and an inability to play with the same intensity as the first two sets. Initially tied to start the last set, the Tigers started a fierce, dynamic offensive campaign with service aces and went on an 8-1 run that the Quakers had no answer for. The Tigers ultimately claimed the last set 25-15.
“Losing sucks,” Murray said. “I think we’re missing that key component of fire and drive that will be the piece we really need to take leads and close out matches. … These last few matches have shown that we can compete physically, so we just need to work really hard to compete mentally also.”
Despite falling short in their Ivy opener, the Quakers are looking to bounce back in their next matchup. The Red and Blue will face off against Yale on Oct. 3.
