Another Early Test:  For the fourth straight year, the Bulldogs' season-opener featured a home match against a team from a top conference.  Before last night's match against No. 18 Minnesota of the Big Ten, the Bulldogs hosted Missouri (2013) of the SEC, Texas A&M (2012) of the Big 12 and Utah of the PAC-12.  Last season, Missouri went on to win its first 35 matches and earn a top-10 national ranking.  

Fast Start: The Bulldogs hit .375 with 16 kills in a close, 25-23 first-set loss. Both the Bulldogs and Golden Gophers had 18 digs each. Yale had a 3-1 edge in services aces in the opener. 

Home Court Advantage:  The John J. Lee Amphitheater was electric for the Bulldogs first match of the season against a nationally ranked opponent.  Despite the match's delayed start time, the large crowd went into an early frenzy when Yale jumped out to a 22-19 lead. The match started an hour and 20 minutes late due to the evening's first match, which went five sets.   Albany defeated Boston College in a 2-hour, 30-minute match.

Instant Impact: Freshmen Kaitlyn Gibbons and Kelsey Crawford started and played all three sets.  Both contributed in their first collegiate set.  Gibbons had four kills and hit .400 in the opening frame, while Crawford dished out 10 assists with an ace.    

Rogers Keeps Rockin': Senior team captain Mollie Rogers opened up her final season as a Bulldog right where she left off.  After being named a first team All-Ivy selection her first three seasons, Rogers led Yale with nine kills and added 10 digs against Minnesota on Friday night. 

Maddie Moves Up:  Senior Maddie Rudnick moved into eighth place all-time at Yale volleyball history after posting a team-high 11 digs on Friday night. Rudnick now has 1,212 digs in her career.  She needs seven digs to move into sixth place.  Rudnick also added a kill off a nifty dig in the first set.

Report filed by Ernie Bertothy, Yale Sports Publicity