Oct. 26, 2007

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NEW HAVEN, Conn.--The Bulldogs knew what they needed to do, and they went out and took care of business. Yale (12-5, 6-2 Ivy) dominated from the start Friday night at the John J. Lee Amphitheater, dispatching Harvard (7-14, 2-7 Ivy) 30-22, 30-21, 30-18. The win was the Bulldogs' eighth straight against the Crimson and their season-high fourth victory in a row. Yale hit .311 in the match, smashing 55 kills and only committing 13 errors in 135 attempts.

The Bulldogs set the tone early, hitting .468 (25-3-47) in the opening game. After Harvard scored the first point of the match, it was all Yale from there. The Bulldogs rattled off the next four points to open up a 4-1 lead. Harvard kept it close for a little while, but Yale used a 6-0 run to turn an 11-7 edge into a 17-7 advantage. Harvard wasn't able to make a dent in the lead, and Nicole Perkins smacked her eighth kill of the game to put away a 30-22 Yale win. Perkins hit .800 in game one and didn't commit an error. Allison Kaptur was a perfect 4-for-4 attacking in the game.

It was more of the same in game two. Yale broke open a 2-2 game with a 4-0 run that made it 6-2. After runs of 3-0 and 5-0, the Bulldogs led 14-6. Harvard chipped away and got within 14-11 thanks to a 5-0 run on Miyoko Pettit's serve. The Bulldogs scored nine of the next 11 points to build a 23-13 cushion. Just as she ended game one, Perkins smacked a kill on game point to give the Bulldogs a 30-21 win and put her team up 2-0 in the match.

After the Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-4 lead in game three, the Crimson came right back and tied it at 7-7. Yale used a 6-0 run to pull in front 13-7 and essentially put it away. It was clear everything was going Yale's way when a spectacular Julia Mailander dig landed in the open court on Harvard's side and turned into a kill. The Bulldogs got another lucky bounce when Alexis Crusey's swing hit the top of the net, then rolled over and fell in front of Harvard's defense. That kill made it 25-13, prompting a Crimson timeout. Yale made quick work of the Crimson after building that huge lead, finishing off the game by a 30-18 count.

Perkins led the Yale offense with a season-high 14 kills on .500 hitting. Mailander tallied a double-double with a career-high 15 kills and 13 digs. Kaptur hit .538, smashing eight kills and only committing one error in 13 attempts. She added four blocks. Kali Nelson had five blocks, as the Bulldogs out-blocked the Crimson 9-4. Kelly Ozurovich posted 18 digs and Crusey added 13. Ally Mendenhall had another well-rounded match, hitting .444 with four kills, no errors, 37 assists, seven digs and two service aces.

Laura Mahon and Kathryn McKinley led the Crimson with seven kills apiece, as Harvard had just 31 kills compared to Yale's 55. The Bulldogs had 15 more offensive attempts (135 to 120). Katherine Kocuerk tallied 18 digs for the Crimson and Mahon added 12. Lily Durwood contributed 28 assists. Harvard hit just .100 (31-19-120) as a team in the match.

The Bulldogs return to action Saturday at 4 p.m. when they conclude their four-match homestand against Dartmouth (13-6, 6-3 Ivy) at the John J. Lee Amphitheater. The Big Green came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Brown in five games on Friday night. Dartmouth defeated Yale 3-0 earlier this season. A free live webcast will be available at yalebulldogs.com via Yale All-Access. Anthony Brooks and Tracy Timm will have the call.

Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity