Bulldogs Close 2009 With Sweep at Brown
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In the final match of
her collegiate career, senior Alexis Crusey took sole possession of
third place on the Yale all-time kills list as the Bulldogs swept
Brown in Providence, R.I. on Tuesday evening to close out the 2009
season. Senior Cat Dailey led all players with 13 kills and 25
digs, her 12th double-double of the season and third in a row, to
lead Yale to victory by set scores of 29-27, 25-13 and 25-18.
With the victory, Yale concludes the 2009 campaign at 21-4, setting
a new program record for winning percentage at .840. The Bulldogs
also finished second in the Ivy League at 11-3, marking the sixth
consecutive campaign in which Yale has posted double-digit wins in
the Ancient Eight. Brown wraps up its season at 6-19 overall and
2-12 in league play.
Crusey had seven kills in her collegiate finale to bring her career
total to 1,286, the third-most in Yale history and the most ever by
a Bulldog in the rally scoring era (2001-present). She also added
15 digs to finish seventh all-time with 1,219.
Senior Laurel Johnson closed out her career with six kills (6-1-11,
.455) and two blocks, bringing her career total up to an even 200.
Johnson was one of three Bulldogs with six kills, as sophomores
Taylor Cramm and Bridget Hearst each slammed home a half-dozen
finishers. Freshman Kerry Clavadetscher dished out a match-best 32
assists from the setter slot, and junior libero Kelly Ozurovich had
18 digs in the season finale to move past Lesley Coben ’00
into fifth place all-time at Yale with 1,241 digs in her
career.
Katrina Post (12 kills, 16 digs) and Brianna Williamson (10 kills,
10 digs) each had double-doubles for the Bears. Annika Gliottone
and Spencer Andrews shared setting duties and doled out 18 and 15
assists, respectively, while Carly Cotton led the Brown back row
with 20 digs.
The first set was the most competitive of the three, as neither
squad scored more than two consecutive points en route to a 13-13
deadlock. At that point, it was Brown that took control with a 3-0
run to force a Yale timeout. The Bulldogs would chip away at the
lead over the next stretch of action, until a kill from Cramm
knotted the score once again at 21-21. The Bears proved to be
resilient, however, as they were the first team to gain a set-point
opportunity, leading 24-23. A kill from Crusey thwarted that chance
and, after a Post kill, a big swing by the senior squashed another
opportunity to steal set one. After a Brown attack error, the
Bulldogs were off-target on their first set-point chance, and the
score landed at 26-26. A Dailey kill gave Yale another opportunity,
but Post answered to know the score for the 17th time in the set at
27-27. Dailey’s seventh kill of set one gave Yale a third
crack at set point, and this time the Bulldogs delivered as a Brown
attack error gave Yale a 29-27 set-one victory.
Set two picked up where the first set left off, as Brown led 6-4
after the first 10 rallies. The Bears began to unravel at that
point, however, as four Brown errors led to a 5-0 run that saw Yale
claim the lead at 9-6. Another four-point spurt ensued, and the
Bulldogs soon had a bit of a cushion, leading by six points at
13-7. Brown would never get closer than four points through the
remainder of the set as Yale ran away with a 25-13 victory to claim
a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set three raced out to a 7-7 stalemate before the Bulldogs made the
first run of the frame. Two kills from Crusey highlighted a
four-point spurt that gave Yale a lead it would not relinquish. The
Bears cut the lead down to one with a run of their own, but another
four-point Yale run followed to give the Bulldogs a 15-10 edge. A
string of five straight points later in the set put the Bulldogs
out of reach, leading 23-14, as they walked away with a 25-18
victory to close out the sweep.
The Yale Class of 2010, which consists of Crusey, Dailey, Johnson,
Lydia Mailander and captain Julia Mailander, finishes its career
with a record of 74-24 (.755), the best winning percentage for a
Bulldog class to play four varsity seasons. That group also posted
an impressive 45-11 (.804) Ivy League record in four seasons in the
Elm City.
report filed by Drew M. Kingsley, Yale Sports Publicity