Volleyball Hosts Princeton and Penn as Ivy Play Continues

Friday, September 29

Providence, R.I.

7 p.m.

Brown University

Princeton

Photo by: Peter Schwaller

Volleyball Hosts Princeton and Penn as Ivy Play Continues

9/28/2023 9:31:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Watch (Princeton)Watch (Penn)Live Stats

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Brown volleyball returns home for the first time since Sept. 5 as the Bears will host Princeton and Penn on Friday (Sept. 29) and Saturday (Sept. 30).

The Bears (9-2, 0-1) will be looking to bounce back to a five-set loss against Yale that opened Ivy League play last weekend.

GAME LINKS
vs. Princeton | Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats
vs. Penn | Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

SCOUTING BROWN
- Brown dropped its first Ivy League contest of the season in a five-set heartbreak at Yale last Friday. The Bears won the first two sets 25-23, 25-16 but lost the next three 23-25, 23-25, 16-18. It was the second-straight season that Brown started Ivy League play with a five-set loss to Yale when the Bears held a 2-0 lead in the match.
- The Bears finished with four players with double-figure kills for the second time this season, the first being a five-set win against Binghamton on Sept. 16. Mariia Sidorova led the Bears with 18 kills, one shy of her career-high. Kate Sheire had a season-high 17 kills. Beau Vanderlaan finished with 16 kills and hit a team-high .538. Kayla Griebl finished them atch with an 11-kill, 10-dig double-double.
- The offense was guided by Cierra Jenkins who finished the night with 55 assists, two-shy of her career-high. Jenkins also had 14 digs and and six kills, while hitting .417.
- Sidorova leads the Bears with 3.44 kills per set and is currently third in the Ivy League in kills per set. Sidorova has five games this season with double-figure kills and has had double-figure kills in four of her last five matches.
- Sheire is the second of four Bears in the top-ten in the Ivy League as the senior is averaging 3.00 kills per set. Sheire also has five games with double-figure kills on the season and is hitting .301 on the year with four matches above .300.
- Vanderlaan has been on a tear this season, averaging 2.88 kills per set and hitting a league-best .471. Vanderlaan has finished with double-figure kills in each of her last five matches and leads the team with seven matches of 10+ kills. The junior has hit over .350 in each of her last six matches and has hit above .500 in her last three. Through 11 games this season, Vanderlaan is hitting almost 100 points higher and averaging more than half a kill more than what she did a season ago.
- Griebl has posted double-figure kills in five of her last six matches and has posted at least eight kills in eight of her nine matches this season. The junior posted a career-high 19 kills against Binghamton and has finished with three kill-dig double-doubles in her last four matches.
- The balanced offense stems from the strong play of Jenkins. Jenkins is second in the Ivy League with 10.15 assists per set and has posted 30 assists or more in seven matches this season with four 40+ assist efforts.
- On defense, Brown is led by Jessie Golden, who leads the Ivy League with 5.68 digs per set, more than 1.3 digs higher than the second-place number. Golden has twice picked up at least 25 digs and has five matches this season with at least 20.

SCOUTING PRINCETON
- The Tigers are 5-5 on the season and 2-0 in the Ivy League after beating Penn in two matches last weekend. Princeton has won three-straight matches after losing the previous five.
- Kamryn Chaney leads the Princeton offense with 3.21 kills per set and three other Tigers are averaging over 2.00 kills per set.
- Setter Sydney Draper leads the team and Ivy League with 10.51 assists per set and was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the second time this season.
- Princeton is third in the Ivy League as a team in assists and digs per set and hitting percentage.
- Lucia Scalamandre is 13^th in the NCAA and second in the Ivy League in hitting percentage (.447).
- Brown lost both regular season meetings with Princeton last season, losing in four sets in Princeton and five sets in Providence. The Bears won the last meeting, beating Princeton in four sets in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament.

SCOUTING PENN
- Penn is 2-10 on the year and 0-2 on the season after falling in two matches against Princeton last weekend but took the Tigers to five sets in the second meeting.
- The Quakers are hitting just .172 on the season and allowing opponents to hit .254.
- Zada Sanger leads the team with 3.69 kills per set but no other player has more than 2.30 kills per set. Sanger is second in the Ivy in kills, attacks and points per set.
- The top four players on the roster in kills per set are all hitting under .200 this season.
- The Quakers are in the bottom half of the league in all major statistical categories this season.
- Brown swept Penn in Providence last season and won in five sets in the second meeting. The Bears have won four-straight meetings with Penn and six of the last seven.

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