In its first four games of the season, the Princeton volleyball team had not dropped a set and had not allowed more than 23 points in any of those games.
And on Tuesday night, the Bulldogs kept those streaks intact as they dispatched North Duplin 25-5, 25-15, 25- 12 to notch their fifth consecutive victory to open the 2020 season.
“We’ve got pretty good defense this year, which is something we have not been super strong at in the past few years, but we have a strong front line too,” Princeton head coach Paige Renfrow said.
The Bulldogs jumped to an early 11-4 lead in the first set. Four of those points were slammed down by senior Sara Daughtry, while Le’Onna Nelson had a kill and an ace in the first set.
The Rebels eventually narrowed the lead to 12-7, but the margin would get no closer for the rest of the set. Princeton went on a 13-0 run to win the first set, with Alaina Johnson tallying three kills in the set.
With limited fans, the Bulldogs generated their own energy and kept a tight grip on the momentum in the second set.
Princeton began the second set with an 11-5 run and forced the Rebels to call a timeout, but coming out of the timeout, the Bulldogs outscored North Duplin 13-10 to increase their lead to 24-15.
A kill from Carolina Norris ensured a 25-15 victory for Princeton in the second set.
“The girls are peppy, and it’s just their personalities to be kind of hyper, so they keep themselves going,” Renfrow said. “They are just a good group of girls.”
In the third and final set, the Bulldogs pounced quickly, found themselves up 10-3, and never looked back.
North Duplin’s Callie Thornton had a kill and two straight aces to cut Princeton’s lead down to 21-11, but Princeton soon restored order in the form of a 4-1 run to seal the sweep.
Both squads are back in action on Thursday. Princeton (5-0) travels to Neuse (3-1) Charter, while North Duplin (1-3) hosts Union (0-4).
“Caroline played great on the front, Sara played well on the front. Our setter, Meredith Wooten, was super scrappy. So, I think overall everybody played well,” Renfrow said. “Of course, we had some errors, but that’s just the game.” college level.
