NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale nearly pulled off a big comeback in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the John J. Lee Amphitheater. Instead, Harvard used a 15-11 victory in the fifth set to knock off the Bulldogs 3-2.
 
After dropping the first two sets, the Bulldogs used a big rally to force a deciding set.
 
The third set was tied at 6-6 before Yale won 10 of the next 12 points on the way to a 25-20 win.
 
The Bulldogs (9-4, 2-2 Ivy) trailed 8-6 early in the fourth set, but Carly Diehl won six straight points on her serve, and Yale never looked back, taking the set 25-19.
 
The Crimson (6-7, 3-1 Ivy) won the first six points of the fifth set. The Bulldogs, though, had one more comeback left in them, pulling within 11-10 on Tiffany Pedersen-Henry's kill.
 
Harvard held on and closed out the match with a Nicole Prescott kill.
 
Diehl finished with 36 assists, nine kills and four service aces for the Bulldogs. Pedersen-Henry added 12 kills and Maile Somera contributed 19 digs.
 
Both of Yale's two Ivy League losses have come in five sets.
 
The Bulldogs are back in Lee Amphitheater on Saturday, hosting Dartmouth at 5 p.m.