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Brown University
8-10, 2-4Ivy
Princeton
8-7, 3-3Ivy
Volleyball's Rally Falls Short in 3-2 Setback to Princeton
10/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Brown University volleyball nearly came back from a 2-0 set deficit for the second time in Ivy League play but ultimately fell to Princeton University, 3-2 (25-17, 25-18, 19-25, 22-25, 15-7), in five sets at the Pizzitola Sports Center on Friday night.
In a battle for positioning in the Ivy League standings, the Bears (8-10, 2-4 Ivy) rallied to tie the match at two sets apiece before the visiting Tigers (8-7, 3-3 Ivy) prevailed in the deciding frame.
Freshman Sabrina Stillwell (Laguna Beach, Calif.) tied for the match high with 17 kills while senior Shannon Frost (Santa Ana, Calif.) posted her first double-double of the year on a season-high 11 kills and 15 digs. Junior Payton Smith (Atherton, Calif.) and sophomore Shirin Tooloee (San Jose, Calif.) each tallied 11 kills.
Junior Sarah Lucenti (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) logged her second double-double of the season on 24 assists and 10 digs, and senior Rachele Killian (Laguna Beach, Calif.) registered 24 assists and eight digs. Sophomore libero Melissa Cairo (Hillsborough, Calif.) compiled a team-high 20 digs.
Princeton gained a 14-7 lead midway through set one and then pushed its edge to 18-10. The Tigers held at least a six-point lead the rest of the way in the 25-17 set win. Smith landed four kills in the frame.
In set two, Brown remained within two points of the visitors at 17-15 before the Tigers closed the stanza with an 8-3 run to gain the 25-18 set win and a 2-0 set lead. Stillwell terminated on six kills in the period.
The Bears began their comeback in set three, jumping out to a 9-4 advantage and leading for the duration – not allowing the Tigers to pull any closer than two points. Frost totaled four kills in the stanza to help the hosts cut their set deficit to 2-1.
Brown tied the match at two sets each with a 25-22 victory in the fourth set. Brown garnered a 16-13 edge, but Princeton countered to tie the frame at 18-18 and 21-21. The Bears recorded four of the set's last five points to take the set win and force a fifth frame. Stillwell had four kills in the set.
In the fifth set, Brown stood within 6-4 before Princeton rattled off four straight points to take a 10-4 lead. The Tigers scored five of the frame's last seven points to complete the 15-7 set win.
For Princeton, Brittany Ptak logged 17 kills, Claire Nussbaum dished out a match-high 33 assists, and Cara Mattaliano made a match-best 27 digs.
As part of the match, the Bears supported the Side-Out Foundation's Dig Pink Rally 2015 for breast cancer awareness and research.
Next, Brown hosts Penn tomorrow at 5 p.m. in another Ivy match.
