Box Score Bulldogs Use Balance on Offense and Defense to Earn Victory
HAMILTON, N.Y. -- Maya Midzik smashed a career-high 16 kills and Brittani Steinberg added a double-double to lead the Bulldogs to a 3-1 win over Albany on Friday evening.
The scores of the match were 15-25, 25-21, 25-20 and 25-17. Yale improved to 2-2, while Albany dropped to 3-4.
Midzik and Steinberg led a balanced attack -- both on offense and defense -- for the Bulldogs.
Steinberg, who earned All-Ivy status in 2013, missed most of last season due to injury. She returned to her old form and reached double-figures in kills for the first time since December 6, 2013 and added 13 digs.
Jesse Ebner and Kelly Johnson both had eight kills - and did a lot more. Ebner also had seven digs and three block assists, while Johnson had 16 digs and five block assists. Yale led 18-8 in total blocks.
Freshman Kate Swanson had a team-high 17 digs for the Bulldogs, while Kelsey Crawford had 38 assists and 10 digs.
After dropping the first set, Yale went on a run. It started with Steinberg in the second set.
Down 6-5, Yale scored seven of the next nine points with Steinberg starting and capping the run with kills. Albany fought back to take a 19-18 lead before Ebner's kill tied. The Bulldogs kept it going and scored six of the next seven points.
Steinberg followed Ebner with an ace. Ebner and Johnson then combined on block assists. Johnson, Midzik, Karlee Fuller and Steinberg closed out the set with a string of kills.
Fuller, the team captain, was in the mix during Yale's third set victory. She joined Midzik for back-to-back block assists to give Yale a 16-15 lead that would not give back.
In the fourth set, Johnson's ace gave Yale an early 4-3, and the Bulldogs never gave up the lead. Midzik had six kills in the set.
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday with two matches. Yale faces host Colgate at 12:30 p.m. The match is available to watch for free.
Later in the day, Yale takes on Rutgers at 4:30 p.m.
Report filed by Ernie Bertothy, Yale Sports Publicity
