Princeton, Penn Visit Lee Amphitheater This Weekend
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Coming off of its
seventh straight win, a straight-set thrashing of Brown on Friday
night in the Ivy League opener, the Yale volleyball team will host
perennial Ancient Eight powers Princeton and Penn in the first full
weekend of Ancient Eight competition. In addition to the
seven-match win streak overall, the 11-1 Bulldogs have won nine
consecutive Ivy League matches and nine straight contests at the
John J. Lee Amphitheater. Both of this weekend’s contests
will feature live stats and will be streamed live via Yale
All-Access.
Last Time Out
The Bulldogs opened Ivy League play on Oct. 2 with a commanding
25-15, 25-11, 25-11 sweep of Brown. Yale got a match-best 10 kills
from senior Cat Dailey, as four players totaled seven or more
finishers for the Bulldogs. Junior Kelly Ozurovich had a match-high
15 digs to eclipse 1,000 digs for her career. Yale hit a scorching
.379 while holding the Bears to a paltry -.009 mark in the
sweep.
Starting Strong
With last Friday’s sweep of Brown, Yale has matched the best
start in program history at 11-1. The 2005 Bulldogs won 11 of their
first 12 matches en route to a 20-4 finish. Yale’s 10-1 tally
in non-conference contests signifies the best non-league mark for a
Yale squad since 2001, when the non-conference schedule was
shortened in favor of a 14-match Ivy League slate.
This Is Our House
Yale is 7-0 in home matches this season and has won its last nine
contests in the John J. Lee Amphitheater dating back to 2008. The
Bulldogs were 9-1 in the Elm City last season, including a 6-1 home
record against Ivy League competition.
Scouting the Tigers (Oct. 9 – 7 p.m.)
At 2-10 overall, perennial Ivy League-power Princeton finds itself
in the midst of a rebuilding season. However, despite sporting a
roster that lost three 2008 All-Ivy players, including 2007 Player
of the Year Parker Henrtize, Princeton is not without an
experienced core. Six players who saw action during the
Tigers’ 14-0 Ivy League season in 2007 remain on the roster
in 2009. Leading the way is two-time All-Ivy honoree Sheena
Donohue, who is averaging 3.30 kills and 4.17 digs per set. As a
team, the Tigers’ offense rank seventh in the Ivy League in
hitting percentage (.141), sixth in kills (11.33 per set), sixth in
assists (10.62 per set) and last in service aces (0.64 per set).
The Princeton defense ranks fifth in opponent hitting percentage
(.201), third in digs (17.51 per set) and seventh in blocks (1.47
per set).
Bulldogs vs. Tigers
Yale took both matches with the Tigers in 2008 to close the gap in
the all-time series, which Princeton leads, 33-17. One team has
taken both ends of the home-and-home series in each of the past
four seasons, with each squad completing the sweep twice. The
Tigers are the lone Ivy League team against whom Erin Appleman does
not own a winning record, as she has split 12 matches with
Princeton, 6-6. A Yale win would match its longest win streak
against Princeton at three straight. The Tigers won 13 straight in
the series from 1997-2003.
In the Year 2008
The Bulldogs swept the Tigers in New Haven on Oct. 17 to snap the
Tigers’ 18-match Ivy League winning streak, then took a
straight-set victory at Princeton on Nov. 15 to lock up sole
possession of the 2008 Ancient Eight crown. Cat Dailey averaged
4.67 kills and 3.83 digs per set against the Tigers in 2008, while
Alexis Crusey posted 4.33 kills and 4.17 digs in six frames of
action. Of the nine Bulldogs who saw action against Princeton last
season, only graduated setter Ally Mendenhall ’09 is not
longer on the roster.
Scouting the Quakers (Oct. 10 – 4 p.m.)
The Penn Quakers, who will play at Brown on Friday night, enter
the weekend at 10-4 overall and 1-0 in the Ivy League. The lone
Ancient Eight team to defeat Yale in 2008, Penn is led by a pair of
attackers ranking among the league leaders in kills. Senior
Elizabeth Semmens ranks third in the Ivy League with 3.61 kills per
set, while freshman Lauren Martin is fifth with 3.32 per frame.
Martin also ranks fifth in hitting percentage at .305, while senior
Ashley Hawkins in third in efficiency with a .308 percentage. As a
team, the Quakers’ offense rank second (behind Yale) in
hitting percentage at .256, first in kills (13.77 per set) and
first in assists (12.74 per set). Junior Megan Tryon runs the
offense to the tune of a league-best 10.98 assists per stanza.
Defensively, Penn is fourth in the Ivy League in opponent hitting
percentage (.188), third in blocks (1.75 per set) and fifth in digs
(16.70 per set).Hawkins rates fourth in the Ancient Eight in blocks
with 0.89 per frame, and senior libero Madison Wojciechowski is
second in digs with 5.51 per set.
Bulldogs vs. Quakers
Penn leads the all-time series, 24-18, though the Bulldogs are 9-3
against the Quakers with Coach Appleman on the sidelines. Penn
swept the season series in 2003, Appleman’s first in the Elm
City, and Yale has claimed nine of the last 10 meetings since then,
including eight straight in the form of season sweeps in 2004,
2005, 2006 and 2007. Penn took the first 13 matches of the series
(1977-90), the longest streak by either team.
In the Year 2008
Yale and Penn split a pair of five-set thrillers in 2008, with
each team winning on the road. The Quakers’ win in New Haven
on Oct. 18 marked the lone blemish on the Bulldogs’ home
(9-1) and Ivy League records (13-1) last season, and remains
Yale’s last loss both in New Haven and in Ancient Eight play.
Cat Dailey and Alexis Crusey averaged 4.70 and 3.70 kills per set
respectively against the Quakers, while the duo and graduated
setter Ally Mendenhall ’09 all notched 3.80 digs in 10 sets
of action. Mendenhall led the Bulldogs with 11.40 assists per frame
against Penn, while libero Kelly Ozurovich tallied 4.90 digs per
stanza.
Kerry Won This Election
With the Bulldogs coming off of a convincing straight-set victory
over Brown, the Ancient Eight has recognized freshman setter Kerry
Clavadetscher as the Ivy League Rookie of the Week. Clavadetscher,
playing less than two complete sets in the sweep, dished out a
match-high 21 assists. She rounded out her statline with three digs
and two blocks, including one solo effort. For the season, the
Seattle, Wash. native has been the second-most prolific setter in
the Ivy League with an average of 9.67 assists per frame. The
freshman has also contributed 2.22 digs per set and 12 blocks in 27
sets of action during the Bulldogs’ red-hot 11-1 start to
2009. Clavadetscher has landed four service aces and dropped in 10
kills from the setter position.
On Crusey Control
One of the most dominant players in the Ivy League for the past
three seasons, outside hitter Alexis Crusey started her senior
campaign on the right track, grabbing All-Tournament Team honors at
both the Yale Invitational and the American Volleyball Classic and
taking Most Valuable Player laurels at the Yale Classic. Her
performance at the Yale Classic also merited Ivy League Player of
the Week honors. Crusey, a three-time first team All-Ivy honoree,
is currently ranked in the Ancient Eight top 10 in both kills per
set (eighth, 3.12) and digs per set (10th, 3.33). The unanimous
2006 Ivy League Rookie of the Year ranks sixth in Yale history with
1,136 kills and ninth in digs with 1,047 entering this weekend.
The Wizard
Junior libero Kelly Ozurovich reached a milestone in
Friday’s sweep of Brown, as she tallied her 1,000th career
dig. Ozurovich, an All-Ivy honoree in both of her seasons at Yale,
currently leads the Ivy League and ranks fourth in all of Division
I with 5.85 digs per set this season. A two-time Ivy League Weekly
Honor Roll selection this season, Ozurovich currently sits 11 digs
shy of the all-time top 10 at Yale with 1,010 in her career.
Cat Power
Senior outside hitter Cat Dailey, the reigning Ivy League Player
of the Year, has picked up where she left off in 2008 by earning
Most Valuable Player nods at both the season-opening Yale
Invitational and the Seton Hall Invitational. Dailey hit a sizzling
.487 with 4.88 kills and 3.38 digs per set at the Yale
Invitational, a performance for which she was also named Ivy League
Player of the Week and garnered national attention as a CVU.com Top
Performer. She also averaged 3.89 kills and 4.22 digs per set while
posting double-doubles in all three matches at the Seton Hall
Invitational. On the season, the Newport Beach, Calif. native has
averaged 4.07 kills and an Ivy League-leading 0.39 service aces per
set. Dailey is also in the Ancient Eight top 10 in hitting
percentage (fourth, .307) and digs (ninth, 3.39 per set).
Homecoming Queen
Playing in her home state of New Jersey, senior Laurel Johnson hit
a commanding .424 (29-4-59) as the Bulldogs swept a trio of matches
on Sept. 18-19 to win the Seton Hall Invitational. The Cherry Hill,
N.J. native earned All-Tournament and Ivy League Player of the Week
honors on the back of averaging 3.22 kills per set and amassing a
tournament-best 1.22 blocks per set.
The Ministry of Defense
As potent as the Yale offense has been thus far in 2009, the
Bulldogs’ defense has certainly done its part in guiding the
squad to its historic 11-1 start. Yale currently leads all Ivy
League teams in digs (18.89 per set), blocks (2.32 per set) and
opponent hitting percentage (.106).
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Yale’s straight-set win over Binghamton on Sept. 26 marked
the Bulldogs’ third victory this season against an opponent
that was selected to win its conference in the preseason
coaches’ poll. The Bearcats, representing the America East
Conference, join Fairfield from the Metro Atlantic Athletic
Conference and the Patriot League preseason favorite, American
University, on the Bulldogs’ hit list.
Getting Back on Track
With the Bulldogs’ sweep of Hofstra on Sept. 18, Yale has
now won six straight matches following a loss. Yale was last
defeated in consecutive matches in September 2008 at the Penn State
Classic against the eventual-National Champion Lady Lions and Saint
Louis, a team that finished last season ranked at No. 21 in the
nation.
High School Heroines
PrepVolleyball.com, the Internet’s first and only website
dedicated to covering club and high school volleyball on a national
level, selected the Yale Class of 2013 as a High Honorable Mention
in its annual rankings of the nation’s top recruiting
classes, as determined by a panel of over 100 collegiate coaches.
The Yale class of 2013 consists of Anya Cekauskas, Kerry
Clavadetscher, Julia Cortopassi and Haley Wessels. Two of the four
Ivy League recruiting classes to ever receive High Honorable
Mention status have been Yale squads. The Bulldogs’ Class of
2010 (current seniors Alexis Crusey, Laurel Johnson, Julia
Mailander and Lydia Mailander) also earned the distinction in
2006.
On the Court and in the Classroom
The American Volleyball Coaches Association has announced that the
Bulldogs are among the recipients of the AVCA Team Academic Award.
The award has been presented annually since 1993 to collegiate and
high school volleyball teams that have displayed excellence in the
classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30
cumulative team grade-point average.
Trend Setters
Yale is the only Ivy League volleyball program to notch a win in
the NCAA Championships. The 2004 Bulldogs, the first Ancient Eight
squad to host an NCAA Championship match, knocked off Albany in
five sets to tally the first postseason win in conference history.
The 2008 Yale team then defeated Ohio in the University Park (Pa.)
Subregional to become the first Ivy League team to win an NCAA
Championship match away from its home court.
State Troopers
Including the sweeps of Fairfield, Central Connecticut State and
Quinnipiac this season, the Bulldogs are 96-29 all-time against
opponents from the state of Connecticut. Yale’s most frequent
opponent from the Nutmeg State has been the University of Hartford,
against which the Bulldogs are 21-3. The University of Connecticut
has had the most success against the Bulldogs among in-state rivals
with a 12-4 advantage in the series. Head Coach Erin Appleman is
11-2 versus the Constitution State, with both losses coming at the
hands of the Huskies.
Beaten By the Best
The Bulldogs’ record-setting 2008 season ended in the NCAA
Championship Second Round at the hands of No. 1 Penn State. The
match, which was held on the Lady Lions’ home court, was the
34th consecutive sweep for the eventual national champions, who
dropped only two sets all season en route to a 38-0 finish. In
total, five of Yale’s six losses in 2008 came at the hands of
teams that advanced to the NCAA Championship tournament.
Dig, Set, Tweet!
The Yale volleyball team has a new home in cyberspace this season
courtesy of Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/YaleVolleyball.
The Bulldogs’ Twitter page will feature news, information and
live updates during road matches.
2009 Schedule Notes
The 2009 schedule consists of 13 home matches and 12 road
matches…The Bulldogs’ non-conference slate includes
four opponents to whom they have never lost (Binghamton,
Quinnipiac, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech), and an opponent they have
never beaten (American)…Colorado and New Jersey Institute of
Technology are both first-time opponents for Yale…Under
Coach Appleman (2003-present), Yale has only played five of its
2009 non-conference opponents (Binghamton, Central Connecticut
State, Georgetown, Hofstra, Quinnipiac). The Bulldogs are a
combined 7-0 in those matches…Hofstra (Sept. 18) is the only
repeat opponent from the 2008 non-conference schedule…Yale
will only play two matches at the American Volleyball Classic
(American and Virginia Tech). The fourth team at the event, NJIT,
will challenge the Bulldogs the following weekend at the Seton Hall
Tournament… Last season, Yale and Brown played a
home-and-home series to open Ivy League play. This year, the series
is split as the first and last matches of the Ancient Eight
schedule…The Bulldogs will play three in-state opponents
(Central Connecticut State, Fairfield, Quinnipiac), the most Nutmeg
State foes they have challenged since 2005. Yale did not face any
Connecticut squads in 2007 or 2008.
Team Up to Fight Cancer
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the volleyball team has
combined efforts with the field hockey and women’s soccer
teams this October for the first-ever “Team Up to Fight
Cancer” initiative. The teams sold t-shirts and collected
donations at home athletic events throughout the weekend of Oct. 2
to benefit the Yale Cancer Center, with the proceeds being
designated for breast cancer research.
Beach Blanket Broadcast
The Bulldogs relocated their morning practice on Friday, Aug. 28
from the friendly confines of the John J. Lee Amphitheater to
scenic Hammonasset Beach in Madison, Conn. The defending Ivy League
Champions hit the sand at Meig’s Point with the crew of the
Fox 61 Morning News as a part of the “Zip
Trip” segment, which highlights Connecticut-based
attractions. Coach Appleman and members of the Yale team fielded
questions from anchor Jeff Valin, while host Logan Byrnes took a
few practice swings with the team.
New York State of Mind
The Bulldogs will head to the Empire State next weekend for its
first Ivy League road contests of 2009. Yale travels to Cornell on
Friday for a 7 p.m. contest and wraps up the weekend with a 5 p.m.
tilt at Columbia. Both contests are slated to feature live stats
courtesy of the home team and live Twitter updates at http://www.twitter.com/YaleVolleyball.
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