Sept. 21, 2007

Box Score

BROOKLYN, N.Y.--Led by double-doubles from Alexis Crusey and Julia Mailander, the Yale volleyball squad (5-2) defeated Binghamton (6-9) 30-18, 30-15, 30-26 at the Wellness Center in each team's first match of the LIU Volleyball Invitational. Crusey finished with 15 kills and 17 digs, while Mailander tallied 13 kills and 12 digs. Crusey added three solo blocks.

The teams traded the first seven points of the match before Binghamton went up 5-3, the first two-point edge for either side. The Bulldogs responded with three straight points and took the lead for the first time on a block by Kali Nelson and Laurel Johnson. Thanks to a 17-4 run, Yale built a 20-9 advantage to take control. Crusey's fourth kill of game one sealed a 30-18 win that put Yale up 1-0. As a team, the Bulldogs hit .313 (14 kills, 4 errors, 32 attacks) in the game.

Yale raced out of the blocks and took a 7-1 lead in game two, with Binghamton's only point coming on a service error. The Bulldogs were never challenged the rest of the game, and ran their lead to 12 points when Mailander's free ball fell in to make it 26-14. Yale took the next point on a Courtney Hall service ace and finished off a 30-15 win on Crusey's 10th kill. The Bulldogs hit .313 (19-4-48) again in game two.

Binghamton took the early lead in game three, eventually running its advantage to 17-12. Yale chipped away, using a 9-2 run to pull ahead, 21-19. The Bulldogs never trailed again. On match point, Hall slammed down a Binghamton overpass to cap a come-from-behind 30-26 win in game three and a 3-0 match win.

"I thought we played well," said head coach Erin Appleman, who earned her 75th career win with the victory. "I was pleased with our effort. Our outside hitters played good, solid volleyball, and it was good to see Kelly (Ozurovich) be aggressive and perform at such a high level."

Ozurovich had 15 digs, as the Bulldogs out-dug the Bearcats 62-45. Ally Mendenhall had 37 assists and two aces. The Bulldogs had seven aces in the match. Yale hit .228 (45-17-123) as a team.

Jacki Kane led Binghamton with eight kills. Ashley Allen tallied seven kills and added 13 digs. Lindsay Mueller dished out 24 assists for the Bearcats. Binghamton hit just .047 (30-24-129) as a team in the match.

Yale concludes the tournament tomorrow with two matches. The Bulldogs take on Towson at 12 p.m. and the host Blackbirds at 5 p.m. Long Island defeated Towson 3-0 in the first match of the event.

Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity