Opening Weekend Highlights

• The Bulldogs open the season Friday at the Hoosier Invitational hosted by Indiana University. 
• Yale will compete against three schools from three "Power 5" conferences -- Indiana (Big Ten), Oklahoma (Big 12) and Oregon State (Pac 12).  
• The Bulldogs have won the Ivy League title nine of the last 15 years. 
• The Bulldogs earned five first-place votes and were picked to finish second in the Ivy League Preseason Media Poll. 

Friday, September 6

• Yale (0-0) vs. Oklahoma (1-2), 12 p.m. ET  Live stats
• Yale (0-0) vs. Oregon State (2-0), 5 p.m. ET Live stats

Sunday, September 8

• Yale (0-0) at Indiana (3-1), 1 p.m. ET  Live stats | Video (BTN+)

Opening Weekend

Fresh off their ninth Ivy League title in the last 15 years and the program's seventh NCAA tournament appearance, the Bulldogs open the 2019 at the Hoosier Invitational in Bloomington, Ind.  Yale will face three "Power 5" conference teams -- Indiana (Big Ten), Oklahoma (Big 12) and Oregon State (Pac 12).  All three matches will be the first time Yale has played each program.

Scouting the Opponents

Oklahoma (Friday, 12 p.m.)  - The Sooners went 1-2 on opening weekend at the Ram Volleyball Classic hosted by Colorado State.  Oklahoma dropped matches to California and host Colorado State, and defeated Chicago State in five. The Sooners were picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 and return juniors Kylee McLaughlin and Keyton Kinley were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team.

Oregon State (Friday, 5 p.m.) - The Beavers have opened the season 2-0 with wins over UC Irvine and Boston College. Sophomore transfer Chloe Brown produced her first double-double for the Beavers with a team-leading 12 kills and 14 digs, while freshman Cecilee Max-Brown added 10 kills in the win over UC Irvine, and both were named to the all-tournament team.  The team returns 11 letterwinners, six seniors and six returning starters. 

Indiana (Sunday, 1 p.m.)  - The Hoosiers went 3-1 on their opening weekend of competition with wins over FIU, Marshall and UT-Martin.  Sophomore Breana Edwards led the Hoosiers on the weekend with 67 kills, including a career-high 24 kills in the first match of the season, a win over FIU.  The 2019 squad returns nine players, has nine new players and seven seniors, including 2018 All-Big Ten Deyshia Lofton.

Oregon State-IU Connections

Yale first-year Maile Somera has several connections to Yale opponents this weekend.  She is the daughter of former Oregon State volleyball coaches Nancy and Ben Somera (1999-2004).  In addition, her uncle is Joe Hillman was a member of the Indiana University 1987 National Championship Men's Basketball team.

Welcome Back

The Bulldogs return three All-Ivy sections, including last year's Ivy League Player of the Year (Frances Arnautou) and Rookie of the Year (Ellis DeJardin).  In addition, both Arnautou and DeJardin earned first-team honors, while Arnautou also earned AVCA All-East Region honors. Sophomore Samantha Bray earned All-Ivy Second Team honors last season.  Yale also welcomes back two past All-Ivy recipients, junior Kathryn Attar and senior Tristin Kott. 

Simqu Named Team Captain

Senior middle blocker Izzy Simqu has been named the 2019 captain of the defending Ivy League champion Yale women's volleyball team.  Simqu capped the 2018 season in the NCAA Tournament with 13 kills and 423 hitting percentage against Syracuse.  The Westlake Village, Calif., native has 154 kills and 90 blocks through her first three seasons in New Haven with a career .316 hitting percentage at Yale.

Ivy League Preseason Media Poll

Yale earned five first-place votes and were picked to finish second this season in the Ivy League Women's Volleyball preseason media poll announced last week.  Last year, the Bulldogs were picked to finish second and went on to go 13-1 in Ivy League play to win the conference title and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. 

Appleman Leads the Way

Yale head coach Erin Appleman enters her 17th season in New Haven with a 289-109 overall record at Yale with a 180-44 mark in the Ivy League.  She is joined by associate head coach Kevin Laseau (16th season at Yale) and assistant coach Brendan McGourn (6th season at Yale), while Kate Foeman was named as the team's new volunteer coach last month. 

Up Next

The Bulldogs continue their competitive non-conference schedule with a weekend tournament at No. 14 USC.  The weekend includes matches against Villanova and Howard.