Women's Volleyball

Yale Knocks Princeton From No. 1 Spot for First Time Since 2015

PRINCETON, N.J. -- After leading their teams to victories over two-time defending League champion Princeton, Cornell senior libero Kiley McPeek and Columbia freshman setter Audrey Cheng earned the League’s weekly honors. McPeek currently paces the League in digs (305) and digs per set (5.00). 

LEAGUE NOTES
  • Yale paces the Ancient Eight with a 6-1 League mark entering the second half of the conference season. The Bulldogs are looking to return to the helm of the Ivy League for the first time since a string of five-straight championships from 2010-14.
  • Yale has won 56 of its last 58 Ivy League home matches, but will finish the season with 5-of-7 matches on the road. The Bulldogs .750 winning percentage (12-4) is 42nd in NCAA Division I.
  • Two-time defending League champion Princeton is 5-2 in League play and handed Yale its lone League loss on Sept. 30 (3-1). Harvard is also 5-2 in conference action, with its losses coming to Princeton on Oct. 7 (3-0) and Yale on Oct. 14 (3-1).
  • After opening League play 5-0, Princeton dropped back-to-back matches to Cornell (3-1) and Columbia (3-2) to fall to second in the League standings for the first time since 2015. Princeton last lost back-to-back League matches to Harvard and Dartmouth on Oct. 2-3, 2015, as part of an 0-3 start to League play.
  • For the second-straight year, the Ivy League boasts a .500-or-better non-conference winning percentage. The League is 42-33 (.560) against non-conference opposition this season, after going 41-40 (.506) a year ago.  
  • Eight Ivies are hitting .300-or-better, led by Columbia sophomore middle blocker Chichi Ikwuazom (.402), who ranks 20th in NCAA Division I in the category.
  • Princeton sophomore outside hitter Natasha Skov continues to pace the Ancient Eight with 3.47 kills per set, while fellow sophomore setter Jessie Harris leads the League with 679 assists and 10.61 assists per set.
  • Penn freshman outside hitter Parker Jones paces the League in kills (223), points (255.5) and points per set (3.87).
  • Cornell claims a pair of category leaders in sophomore middle blocker Jenna Phelps and senior libero Kiley McPeek. Phelps averages 1.25 blocks per set and .57 service aces per set to top the Ancient Eight. McPeek leads the League with 5.00 digs per set. Phelps (5th, .57) and McPeek (40th, 5.00) each register among the nation’s elite on a per-set basis. As a team, Cornell tallies 17.56 digs per set, which is 19th in NCAA Division I.
  • Columbia averages 1.76 aces per set to rank seventh in the nation. 
  • Harvard sits 37th nationally with a .256 hitting percentage, while Dartmouth is 37th with 2.55 blocks per set.  
  • Cornell (30th, 13.15) and Princeton (38th, 13.06) each rank among the top 40 in NCAA Division I in assists per set. Princeton is also 38th nationally with 13.91 kills per set, one spot ahead of Cornell with 13.90.
  • All four of this week’s matches will be broadcast on the Ivy League Network, which is available on Apple TV and Roku. The network can be found at IvyLeague.TV and IvyLeagueNetwork.com.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Friday, October 20
Yale at Brown, 7 p.m. [ILN]
Harvard at Dartmouth, 7 p.m. [ILN]
Princeton at Penn, 7 p.m. [ILN]
 
Saturday, October 21
Cornell at Columbia, 2 p.m. [ILN]
 
KEY
ILN – Broadcast on the Ivy League Network, now available on Apple TV and Roku


PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After taking over as the Cornell libero for the final 12 matches of her junior season, Kiley McPeek has blossomed into the role as a senior.
 
The Deer Park, Ill., native averaged 7.38 digs per set as the Big Red earned their first Ivy League weekend sweep since 2012—besting Princeton (3-1) and Penn (3-1). McPeek tallied 59 digs on the weekend and also registered 53 service receptions without an error. Her 35 digs against the previously League-unbeaten Tigers are the most in the Ancient Eight this season. The senior currently paces the League in both digs (305) and digs per set (5.00).
 
McPeek earns her first Player of the Week nod and is Cornell’s second award recipient this season, joining fellow Big Red senior Emily Wemhoff (Sept. 25). McPeek is the first libero to earn Player of the Week honors since Columbia’s Cassie Wes on Oct. 3, 2016.
 
McPeek’s Statistics for the Week  
2 MP, 8 Sets, 6 A, 2 SA, 59 Digs, 2.0 Pts.
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
A highly-coveted recruit who chose Columbia over Virginia Tech, Wyoming, Northeastern and fellow Ivies Brown and Penn, freshman setter Audrey Cheng finds herself at the helm of the Lion offense after taking on the primary setting role on Sept. 30.
 
The Superior, Colo., product led the Lions to their first League win of 2017—a 3-2 thriller over Princeton—on Saturday, Oct. 14. Cheng averaged 9.20 assists per set on the week as Columbia went 1-1 in a pair of five-set matches against Penn and Princeton. She tallied a career-high 48 assists and registered her third double-double of the season with 11 digs in the losing effort against Penn. Cheng then compiled 44 assists in the victory over Princeton, which was Columbia’s first win over the Tigers since 2012.
 
Cheng earns her first Rookie of the Week award and is Columbia’s second freshman honoree the season, joining teammate Jamie Dailey (Sept. 11).
 
Cheng’s Statistics for the Week 
2 MP, 10 Sets, 4 K, .667 Hitting %, 92 A, 1 SA, 17 Digs, 5 TB, 7.5 Pts.
 
HONOR ROLL
Melissa Cairo, Brown (Sr., L – Hillsborough, Calif.)
2 MP, 7 Sets, 1 K, 8 A, 2 SA, 30 Digs, 3.0 Pts.
 
Chichi Ikwuazom, Columbia (So., MB – New York, N.Y.)
2 MP, 10 Sets, 26 K, .426 Hitting %, 2 Digs, 12 TB, 33.5 Pts.
 
Anja Malesevic, Columbia (Sr., RS – Belgrade, Serbia)
2 MP, 10 Sets, 41 K, .190 Hitting %, 1 A, 4 SA, 18 Digs, 10 TB, 50.0 Pts.
 
Tori Dozier, Dartmouth (So., S – Raleigh, N.C.)
2 MP, 6 Sets, 7 K, .263 Hitting %, 50 A, 2 SA, 23 Digs, 6 TB, 12.0 Pts.
 
Christina Cornelius, Harvard (Jr., MB – Los Angeles, Calif.)
2 MP, 8 Sets, 29 K, .423 Hitting %, 2 SA, 22 Digs, 9 TB, 36.5 Pts.
 
Mindie Mabry, Harvard (Fr., MB – Fort Myers, Fla.)
2 MP, 7 Sets, 24 K, .389 Hitting %, 10 Digs, 5 TB, 26.5 Pts.
 
Parker Jones, Penn (Fr., OH – Lafayette, Calif.)
2 MP, 9 Sets, 37 K, .211 Hitting %, 2 A, 5 SA, 22 Digs, 2 TB, 43.0 Pts.
 
Sydney Morton, Penn (Sr., S – Atlanta, Ga.)
2 MP, 9 Sets, 7 K, .286 Hitting %, 92 A, 29 Digs, 7.0 Pts.

Kate Swanson, Yale (Jr., L – Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.)
2 MP, 7 Sets, 6 A, 2 SA, 37 Digs, 2.0 Pts.
 
Tristin Kott, Yale (So., OH – Winter Park, Fla.)
2 MP, 7 Sets, 27 K, .478 Hitting %, 5 Digs, 5 TB, 29.5 Pts.