Bloomington, Ind. -- The Bulldogs gave Oklahoma and Oregon State all they could handle on Friday in day one of the Hoosier Invitational.   Yale on its opening day of 2019 dropped both matches, but took Oklahoma to five sets and forced a fourth set with the Beavers.

Yale returns to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time to face host Indiana University.  Sunday's match can be streamed on BTN+.  

Yale Forces Oklahoma to Five Sets in Hard-Fought Loss

In match one of the day against the Sooners, Yale senior Rebekah Nemeth posted a career-best 18 kills, while reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Frances Arnautou had 40 assists, 15 digs, five kills, four block assists and two service aces. 

Kathryn Attar added a team-high 17 digs for the Bulldogs, while Yurika Boyd had 16. The Bulldogs had more kills (60-55) and digs (75-73) in the match.

The scores of the Oklahoma match were 26-24, 21-25, 25-22, 22-25 and 15-8.

The Bulldogs forced extra points in the first set of the season and set the tone for a hard-fought match.  Oklahoma took the first set 26-24 before the Bulldogs answered with a 25-21 second set victory.

With set second set tied at 17-17, first-year Maile Somera gave Yale the lead with a kill, and on the next point, Izzy Simqu and Arnautou combined for a block to extend the Bulldogs' lead. Later in the set, Arnautou's service ace gave Yale its largest lead at 23-19.

After dropping the third set, Yale responded again.  The Bulldogs went on a 6-1 run midway through the set to take control.  Bonnie Bostic, Arnautou and Ellis DeJardin all contributed kills to give Yale a commanding 23-18 lead.  Samantha Bray, who along with DeJardin, collected 11 kills in the match, closed out the set with a kill. 

Despite kills from Nemeth and Attar, the Sooners jumped out to an 8-2 in the final set.  Yale answered with five of the next eight points but could not close the gap. 

Bray's 13 Kills Leads Way in Four-Set Loss to Oregon State

Samantha Bray notched double-figures in kills for the second straight match -- a 3-1 loss to Oregon State.  Kathryn Attar (11 kills, 10 digs) and Ellis DeJardin (10 kills.11 digs) both had double-doubles. 

The scores of the match were 25-22, 25-20, 22-25 and 25-17.  

Yale at the start went nearly point for point with Oregon State.  The opening set featured eight ties and six lead changes. 

The Bulldogs were at their best in the fourth-set victory.  Yale held the Beavers to a .128 hitting percentage. 

DeJardin and Renee Shultz went back-to-back with kills to give Yale a 22-19 edge. The Bulldogs forced an Oregon State hitting error on the next point and went on to extend the match to a fourth set.