NEW HAVEN, Conn. — On the heels of an 11-3, second-place finish in the Ivy League, the Yale volleyball team has placed five players on the All-Ivy team, as announced today by the league office. Seniors Alexis Crusey and Cat Dailey each claimed First Team honors, while sophomore Bridget Hearst landed on the Second Team. Junior Kelly Ozurovich and freshman Kerry Clavadetscher each picked up Honorable Mention nods to round out the quintet of Yale honorees.

“I am very happy to be so well-represented on the All-Ivy team”, said Yale Head Coach Erin Appleman. “It is an honor to be recognized in a league with so many great players”.

Crusey’s selection makes her the first Bulldog, and just the fifth player ever in 31 years of Ivy League volleyball, to earn four career First Team distinctions. The senior closed out her career with 1,286 kills, the third-most in Yale history and the most ever by a Bulldog in the rally scoring era (2001-present). She also ranks seventh all-time in digs with 1,219.

“Lexi is a phenomenal player, and she deserves all of the recognition she has received at Yale” said Appleman. “Her ability and work ethic have helped to instill a winning culture at Yale. She is one of the big reasons why Yale volleyball expects to contend for an Ivy League Title every year.”

Crusey hit .241 in Ivy League matches this season. She averaged 3.20 kills per set against Ancient Eight competition and ranked ninth in digs with 3.69 per frame. She also ranked fifth in aces with 0.31 per set.

Dailey, the 2008 Ivy League Player of the Year, was one of three unanimous selections to the All-Ivy First Team. She was one of two players to rank in the top 10 in kills and hitting percentage, swinging at a .266 clip with 3.98 kills per set. Dailey also led the league in aces with 0.37 per frame and chipped in defensively with 3.61 digs per set.

Hearst earns her first All-Ivy nod with a Second Team selection after hammering 2.98 kills per set with a .295 hitting percentage against Ivy League foes. The sophomore’s marquee effort of the Ivy League season was a 27-kill, .657 hitting percentage performance in a four-set win at Columbia on Oct. 17.

The Honorable Mention for Ozurovich is her third All-Ivy laurel in three seasons at Yale. The Bulldogs’ libero, who was a Second Team honoree as a freshman and an Honorable Mention last season, ranked fifth in Ancient Eight competition with 5.02 digs per set. Ozurovich ended her junior season at fifth on Yale’s all-time digs list with 1,241.

Clavadetscher, Yale’s setter in 2009, is the Bulldogs’ first freshman All-Ivy honoree since Ozurovich in 2007. Clavadetscher was the second-most prolific setter in the Ancient Eight with 11.38 assists per frame. She also averaged 0.51 kills and 1.81 digs per set and was a force at the net as well with 0.55 blocks per set.

The Ivy League Champion Penn Quakers led the way in All-Ivy voting with an unprecedented four First Team selections. Elizabeth Semmens, who was also named the 2009 Player of the Year, and setter Megan Tryon joined Dailey as unanimous honorees. Rookie of the Year Lauren Martin and libero Madison Wojciechowski also represent the Quakers on the First Team, while Princeton’s Sheena Donohue wraps up her career with a First Team selection.

Five All-Ivy players marks the most for a Yale team in program history. At 21-4 in 2009, the Bulldogs set the program record for winning percentage (.840) and notched consecutive 20-win season for the first time since 1995-96.

“This team is full of contributors”, said Dailey. “Our entire team, coaches and players alike, deserves recognition for having five players on the All-Ivy team".

Complete All-Ivy Volleyball Release

report filed by Drew M. Kingsley, Yale Sports Publicity