Oct. 6, 2007
Box Score
HANOVER, N.H.--The Yale volleyball team (7-4, 1-1 Ivy) dropped a 30-28, 30-20, 30-19 decision to Dartmouth (10-3, 3-0 Ivy) Friday night at Leede Arena. The crowd of 705 was definitely a factor, as Yale's four-match winning streak against the Big Green was snapped. Alexis Crusey led the way for the Bulldogs with her fifth straight double-double, posting 15 kills and 17 digs.
Game one was the best game of the match. Yale won a long rally to take a 13-9 lead and increased that advantage to 15-10 on back-to-back blocks. Dartmouth rallied to make it 16-15 before the Bulldogs charged back to go in front 19-16. The Big Green tied it at 22-22, and the squads traded the next 12 points. The momentum of the game, and the match, turned with the Big Green leading 27-26. Due to a scoring error, a point was incorrectly awarded to the wrong side and Dartmouth was momentarily credited with a 28-25 lead. After 10 minutes the discrepancy was cleared up and the score was corrected. Yale won the next point to make it 27-27. The score was tied one final time at 28-28 before Dartmouth won the final two points of the game to claim a 30-28 win.
With Yale leading game two 9-7, Dartmouth pulled away on the strength of a 10-3 run. Yale took a timeout while trailing 21-14, but the Bulldogs couldn't pull any closer than six the rest of the way. The Big Green held on for a 30-20 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Dartmouth's momentum carried over into game three, as the Big Green built an early 3-1 edge. Yale kept it close early on, but Dartmouth scored 13 of 14 points to turn an 11-9 lead into a 23-10 advantage and essentially put the match away. Yale responded by putting together a mini-rally, scoring four of the next six points, but it was too little too late. The Bulldogs hit -.114 (five kills, 10 errors, 44 attacks) in game three, as Dartmouth claimed a 30-19 win and a 3-0 match victory.
Nicole Perkins was the only other Bulldog to reach double figures with 10 kills. Kelly Ozurovich tallied 12 digs. Kristen Wilk and Laurel Johnson each had five blocks, as Yale had an 11-8 blocking advantage. Johnson added eight kills and four digs. Ally Mendenhall recorded a double-double with 29 assists and 11 digs. Kate Parker registered three assists in her collegiate debut. The Bulldogs hit just .083 (37-24-156) as a team.
Jess Thomas posted a double-double for the Big Green with 15 kills and 13 digs. Morgan Covington added 14 kills and five blocks. Amanda Marston tallied a match-high 24 digs, as the Big Green out-dug the Bulldogs 84-65. Katie Hirsch had 42 assists, 10 digs and four service aces for Dartmouth. The Big Green hit .245 (49-15-139) in the match.
The Bulldogs return to action at Harvard Saturday at 4 p.m. Harvard defeated Brown 3-1 on Friday night for its first conference win of the season. Yale has won six straight over the Crimson.
Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity
