Bulldogs Earn Honorable Mention for CVU.com Deep Digging Team of the Year Award
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Coming off of a 21-4
mark in 2009, the best record in program history, the Yale
volleyball team has been recognized by College Volleyball Update
(CVU.com) as an Honorable Mention for its Deep
Digging Team of the Year Award. The Bulldogs, who also earned
Honorable Mention status in 2005, led the Ivy League and ranked
fourth in Division I with 18.58 digs per set.
“Defense is a focal point of our practices every day,”
said Yale Head Coach Erin Appleman. “Being recognized for our
defense on a national level is a testament to our hard
work.”
Yale was listed alongside Iowa State, Lipscomb and North Dakota
State as Honorable Mentions, while Northern Iowa, the Missouri
Valley Conference champion, won the award.
Leading the back row of the Yale set was junior libero Kelly
Ozurovich, who will serve as team captain in the upcoming 2010
campaign. Ozurovich earned her second consecutive All-Ivy Honorable
Mention in 2009 after finishing the season ranked second in the Ivy
League and 13th in the nation with 5.38 digs per set. An All-Ivy
Second Team honoree as a freshman in 2007, Ozurovich will enter her
senior campaign ranked fifth on Yale’s all-time digs list
with 1,241.
First Team All-Ivy selections Alexis Crusey and Cat Dailey also
ranked among the Ancient Eight’s leaders in digs, notching
3.57 (ninth) and 3.55 (10th) digs per set, respectively.
Yale’s defensive efforts, which were also boosted by an Ivy
League-leading 2.17 blocks per set, resulted in an opponent hitting
percentage of just .134.
Ozurovich will lead a 2010 Bulldog squad that returns six
letterwinners from last season, including fellow All-Ivy honorees
Bridget Hearst and Kerry Clavadetscher.
report filed by Drew M. Kingsley, Yale Sports Publicity