CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's volleyball (12-3, 3-3 Ivy) suffered its first home loss of the season as it fell to Princeton (6-8, 4-2 Ivy) in four sets (25-19, 18-25, 21-25, 23-25) on Friday night inside the Malkin Athletic Center.
How it Happened
Although Harvard took the first point on a kill by Ali Farquhar, Princeton kept scoring tight until the Crimson led 15-9 at the media timeout. Kayla Nwabueze continued Harvard's scoring, and the Crimson gained its largest lead of the night at 20-11. Harvard went on to win the set 25-19 with a kill from Ryleigh Patterson.
The Tigers controlled the second set, taking a 15-10 lead into the technical break. The Crimson added on a few points and tried to hold off the end of the set with a kill, but Princeton ultimately finished out the set 25-18.
The third set started with two big Tiger blocks, but Harvard recovered to keep the score close. The teams traded errors before the Crimson used up its first timeout down 12-8. Princeton led 15-12 at the break, and continued to extend its lead until set point at 24-19. Kills from Patterson and Farquhar staved off the Princeton set win for two points, but the Tigers won their second set 25-21.
The final set featured 12 tie scores by the time Princeton led 15-14 at the technical timeout, but Harvard tied the score again at 15-all. Rossi traded kills with the Tigers until Princeton burned its first timeout, and the Tigers recovered to lead 22-18. The score tied again at 22-each, but Princeton was able to capitalize on Harvard errors to win the set and match 25-23.
Harvard Highlights
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Harvard finished the night hitting .188 with 50 kills on 144 attacks, 53 digs, 46 assists, nine blocks, and three aces.
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Senior middle blocker Ryleigh Patterson logged five kills and seven blocks on the match and became the fifth player in program history to reach both 500 kills and 350 blocks.
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Freshman outside hitter Kayla Nwabueze led all attackers with her 13 kills. She also posted two blocks, seven digs, and one ace.
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Sophomore setter Sophia Wei finished the night with her seventh double-double of the season after adding 16 assists and 13 digs. Freshman setter Catlin Shao tabbed 19 assists, eight digs, and three kills.
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Senior libero Yvette Easton led the Crimson with 15 digs. Freshman opposite hitter Masina Ogbechie had a team-high .444 hitting percentage with eight kills and no errors on 18 swings.
Next Up
Harvard returns home to play Penn at 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 17th.
