Volleyball hosts Penn and Princeton over weekend

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Brown women's volleyball returns home for two matches to close out the first half of Ivy League play this weekend. The Bears will start the weekend taking on Penn on Friday (Oct. 14) at 7 p.m. before hosting Princeton on Saturday (Oct. 15) at 5 p.m.

Both games will be streamed on ESPN+. Saturday's game will be Brown's Mental Health Awareness game. The game is sponsored by The Hidden Opponent. THO is a national nonprofit that focuses on supporting student-athlete mental health and addressing the stigma within sports culture. There will be a table with more information, candy, green ribbons for fans, and an opportunity to make a donation to THO.

ABOUT BROWN

The Bears sit in third-place in the Ivy League standings at 4-1 after winning their last four matches. Brown only trails Yale and Princeton who are tied at 5-0 and will play each other on Friday.
The Bears are on a roll in their last four matches winning three of the four matches in four sets. During those matches, Brown has finished with a team-hitting percentage of .306 or better, twice hitting .358 and once hitting a season-best .406. Thanks to the last four matches, Brown is now hitting .246 as a team, second in the Ivy League overall. During league play, that number has jumped to .331, also putting the Bears in second, behind Princeton.
During league play, Beau Vanderlaan now leads the Ivy League with a .514 hitting percentage and is third in kills per set at 3.50. Vanderlaan was named Player of the Week this week after hitting .524 against Dartmouth and .737 against Harvard. During league play this season (five games) Vanderlaan has finished with double-figure kills in four contests and hit over .421 in each match. The sophomore has hit over .400 in eight of her last ten matches overall and over .400 in her last 10 Ivy League matches dating back to last season.
Kate Sheire has continued her hot play to the beginning of Ivy League play. Sheire has hit at least .333 in all five Ivy League matches and has had double-figure kills in four of the five matches. In league play, Sheire currently sits third in hitting percentage (.475) and 10th in kills per set (2.94).
The offense has been reinvigorated by the return of 2021 Ivy League Player of the Year Cierra Jenkins. Jenkins, who had played in just three matches before Ivy League play, has come back on fire during league play. Jenkins has averaged 11.17 assists per set (3rd in league play) and has finished with 33 assists or more in each match, twice hitting the 40-assist mark. Jenkins has finished with at least five kills three times during Ivy League play and has finished with five digs or more in all five matches.
On defense, Victoria Vo has held the backline steady for Brown, averaging 3.89 digs per set in Ivy League play, the fourth-highest total in the league. Vo has finished with double-figure digs in all but two matches this season.
At the net, Brown ranks first in blocks per set at 2.56, led by Vanderlaan with 1.33, second-best in the league. Gabby Derrick and Kate Sheire are tied for eighth in the league at 0.89. This presence is what has helped Brown post the third-best opponent hitting percentage in league play. Brown is holding teams to .200 in the five league games with three of those opponents hitting below .180.
Brown beat Penn in both matches last season, winning the first meeting 3-1 in Philadelphia before sweeping Penn in Providence. Penn ranks in the bottom three in all major statistical categories in the league and lost its first four league games before beating Cornell in five sets in its last outing.
The Princeton game on Saturday will be a meeting between two of the top teams in the league. Brown and Princeton were the only two teams to receive first-place votes in the preseason poll. Princeton is 5-0 in league play but will play 5-0 Yale before take on Brown. The Tigers rank first in the league in hitting percentage and second in the league in opposing hitting percentage. Brown won a four-set match in Princeton last season before sweeping the Tigers in Providence.

ABOUT PENN

Penn is 2-13 overall and 1-4 in Ivy League play. The Quakers dropped their first four matches of the league schedule before beating Cornell in a five-set match. Penn is 0-6 away from home this season.
Penn's offense has struggled as the Quakers are hitting just .152 as a team this year. Autumn Leak leads the team with a .212 hitting percentage for players with over 100 attacks on the year. Leak also leads the team with 2.97 kills per set.
Abigail Reid leads Penn's defense with 4.48 digs per set and at the net, Claire Deller is leading the team with .076 blocks per set.

ABOUT PRINCETON

The Tigers boast a 13-2 record and have won 10-straight games, including their first five Ivy League tilts. In their five Ivy League matches, and last eight matches overall, Princeton has dropped just one set in a match at Harvard.
Princeton boasts the league's best offense, hitting .309 on the season and a staggering .359 in Ivy League play.
Avery Luoma leads Princeton with 4.22 kills per set and is hitting .392 on the year. Six Tigers have hitting percentages over .300.
The offense is guided by Lindsey Kelly who is averaging 11.91 assists per set.
On defense, Lucia Scalamandre leads the team with 1.29 blocks per set and Cameron Dames is tops on the squad at 4.67 digs per set.

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