Friday, December 2, 2022 - 5 p.m.
Yale vs. Central Florida
NCAA Tournament First Round
University Park, Pa. - Rec Hall
Watch on ESPN+ | Tickets | NCAA Tournament Website

TODAY'S MATCHUP
Yale will face Central Florida in an NCAA First Round match today in a match-up of two conference champions. The Bulldogs (23-2, 13-1 Ivy League) won their fourth Ivy League title in five seasons and captured the conference tournament to earn an automatic NCAA berth.  The Knights (27-1, 19-1) earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid from the American Athletic Conference. This marks the second time the two schools have met on the volleyball court.  UCF defeated Yale in five sets on Sept. 15, 2018 in Orlando. Yale won 21 of 22 matches to end the 2022 season, while No. 21 UCF defeated No. 23 Houston in five to close out its schedule and win a share of the conference title.   

PENN STATE FACES UMBC
Penn State (24-7, 13-7 BIG 10), ranked No. 11 nationally in the AVCA Coaches' Poll, earned a No. 4 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament and will face UMBC in the first round.  Penn State is the only women's volleyball program in the country to appear in every NCAA Division I Tournament. UMBC is 17-8 overall and 7-3 in conference play after winning its third-straight America East title with a sweep over New Hampshire. The winner of the Penn St.-UMBC match will face the winner of the Yale-UCF match on Saturday.  

YALE WINS FOURTH IVY TITLE IN FIVE YEARS
The Bulldogs captured their fourth Ivy League regular season title in five seasons with a 13-1 conference mark this year. Yale earned the top seed and earned the right to host the conference tournament.  The Bulldogs defeated No.4 seed Dartmouth and No. 3 seed Brown to win the tournament and earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. 

IVY LEAGUE DOMINANCE CONTINUES
The Bulldogs went 13-1 this season in Ivy League play and won their 11th conference title since 2004. In addition, today marks Yale's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance, the most of any Ivy League school.  Since 2016, Yale is 67-16 in conference competition.  

FIVE BULLDOGS EARN ALL-IVY; APPLEMAN WINS COACH OF THE YEAR
The Yale volleyball program earned five All-Ivy selections.  In addition, head coach Erin Appleman was named the Ivy League Coach of the Year.  Setter Carly Diehl and outside hitter Audrey Leak were named to the first team, while libero Maile Somera and outside hitter Mila Yarich were selected to the second team. Middle hitter Gigi Barr earned honorable mention recognition.

HISTORIC SEASON IN NEW HAVEN
The Bulldogs rank sixth in the nation in win-loss percentage (.920) with a record of 23-2  and have won 20 or more for the 14th time in program history. In addition, the 23 -win mark is the highest total in program history since 1996. The Bulldogs also won a school-record 17 matches in a row earlier this season.  At that time, the streak represented the 2nd longest in the nation.  
. 
COMING UP ACES
The Bulldogs rank third in the nation and lead the Ivy League in service aces per set with a 2.17 average.  Individually, Cara Shultz (7th, 0.65), Maile Somera (23rd, 0.48) and Mila Yarich (109th, 0.38) rank among the nation's leaders.

CARA SHULTZ NEARS SINGLE-SEASON ACES RECORD
Cara Shultz enters action today with 58 service aces -- three away from tying the Yale single-season aces record.  Pauline Mu set the mark with 61 in 1993.  The Ivy League record is 67 - set by Mary Pat Stein of Penn in 1984.

YALE RANKS HIGH IN OPPONENT'S HITTING PERCENTAGE
Yale ranks fifth in the nation with a .147 opponent's hitting percentage.  The percentage also led the Ivy League. 

SPREADING THE WEALTH
Six different Bulldogs have at least 100 kills on the season, and four average over two kills per set.  Mila Yarich (3.06), Audrey Leak (3.00), Gigi Barr (2.68) and Cara Shultz (2.34) each have over 200 kills.  Fatima Samb and Carly Diehl both have over 100. 

IMPRESSIVE 'D'
Four Bulldogs average over two digs per set, led by junior Maile Somera.  An All-Ivy Second Team member this year. Somera averages 4.08 digs per set and  ranks fourth in the conference. Mila Yarich (3.13), Cara Shultz (2.68) and Carly Diehl (2.32) have also provided solid numbers.

CARLY DIEHL APPROACHING 2,000 ASSIST MARK
Sophomore setter Carly Diehl enters the weekend with 1,761 assists in her Yale career and ranks 28th in the nation in assists per set (10.66).  Diehl earned All-Ivy First Team this season and set for a team that ranked 21st in the nation in kills per set. 
 
HEAD COACH ERIN APPLEMAN
Erin Appleman, who was named Yale's head coach in 2003, is one of the most successful coaches in Ivy League history in any sport. She has guided the Bulldogs to an unprecedented 11 Ivy titles, eighth NCAA Tournament appearances, five 20+ win seasons and was the first Ivy coach to lead a team to an NCAA Tournament victory.
 
Appleman, the winningest coach in Yale volleyball history, has guided the Bulldogs to a first or second-place finish in 17 of the last 18 seasons. Under her tutelage, six Bulldogs have earned Ivy League Player of the Year honors, seven were named Rookie of the Year, two won the Defensive Player of the Year award and there have been 38 first team All-Ivy selections. In addition, Appleman has coached two AVCA All-America selections and five who were named to the AVCA All-Northeast Region team.
 
Most recently, Appleman led Yale to Ivy League championships in 2017-19 and 2022.  For her efforts, she was selected as the Ivy League Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2022.  Yale won an Ivy record five straight championships from 2010 to 2014. In 2012, the Bulldogs posted a perfect 14-0 record, winning the league crown by five games. The lvy winning streak reached a league record 23 games during the 2013 season when the Bulldogs finished 13-1 and captured another Ivy title.
It didn't take long for Appleman to turn around the fortunes of the Yale volleyball program. In 2004, her second season at the helm, the Bulldogs captured the Ivy League title and hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament at the John J. lee Amphitheater. Yale knocked off Albany in the first round to post the first NCAA victory by an Ivy League school.

Appleman is the second-winningest coach in Yale history at 343-126 and her .731 winning percentage is the best all-time at Yale.   In 2013, Yale won set an Ivy League record with its 23rd straight conference victory. In 2012, the Bulldogs completed the Ivy League regular season at 14-0 and became only the second school in conference history to do so.  Appleman also earned her 100th conference victory after Yale's second conference match in 20122 and has a career Ivy League mark of 125-29 with an .812 winning percentage. 

In 2011, the Bulldogs went 18-7 and finished 12-2 in conference play.  Yale made its third-ever appearance in the NCAA and faced then No. 1-ranked USC in Los Angeles, Calif.  In 2010, the Bulldogs finished with a 12-2 conference mark and tied for first place in the Ivy League standings.  At one point during the season, the Bulldogs won 10 straight Ivy matches and forced a one-match playoff against Penn.   Five members of the team earned all-Ivy status, including Kendall Polan, who earned conference rookie of the year honors. 

Appleman led Yale to a 21-4 mark in 2009, the best record in program history and the first time the Bulldogs posted back-to-back 20-win seasons since 1995-96. The 2009 Yale team produced five All-Ivy players, including first team honorees Alexis Crusey and Cat Dailey, en route to claiming second place in the Ivy League at 11-3. 

Prior to Yale, Appleman was an assistant coach at Penn State for eight seasons.  During her tenure at Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions went to five Final Fours and won the national title in 1999.

ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH KEVIN LASEAU
Kevin Laseau, who joined the Yale staff in 2004, has helped the Bulldogs win 11 Ivy League titles, including a record-setting five straight conference championships from 2010 to 2014, and helped Yale become the premier volleyball program in the conference.

The volleyball program's recruiting coordinator, Laseau also handles Yale Volleyball's social media, providing content for the Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages.

Yale has won at least 10 Ivy League matches in 16 of his 17 seasons in New Haven.  In addition, Yale has eight NCAA Tournament appearances with Laseau on staff. 

With Laseau in the gym, Yale Volleyball has produced six Ivy League Player of the Year selections, seven Ivy League Rookies of the Year, two Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year awards, 34 All-Ivy First Team awards and 70 total All-Ivy honorees.

Laseau was promoted to associate head coach at Yale in 2008. He came to the Elm City with over 20 years of national club coaching experience, which includes a National Junior Championship and three bronze medals in the 16-open division with the prestigious Munciana (Ind.) Volleyball club.

Laseau has worked at volleyball camps at Ball State, Kentucky, Purdue and Nebraska.

In 2003, Laseau helped create PrepVolleyball.com, the Internet's only junior volleyball website, and served as a radio color commentator for Purdue volleyball matches.

A 1992 graduate of Ball State, Laseau played four seasons in the backcourt for Don Shondell and the Volleycards, who won back-to-back MIVA Championships during that time.

Laseau can often be found working the P.A. at various Yale athletic events, including gymnastics, baseball and lacrosse.

BULLDOGS CAPTURE SYRACUSE TOURNAMENT
The Bulldogs defeated Army, Hofstra and host Syracuse to win all three matches at the Syracuse Tournament   Fresh off a 15-kill, double-double effort in the victory over Syracuse, Cara Shultz was named tournament MVP after another solid performance against Hofstra: 14 digs, eight kills and three aces.  Carly Diehl and Audrey Leak were also named to the all-tournament team.

FOUR BULLDOGS EARN ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Carly Diehl, Audrey Leak, Maile Somera and Mila Yarich have each been named to the 2022 Academic All-District® Volleyball Team, selected by College Sports Communicators.   The honor recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes volleyball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale).

YALE EARNS AVCA TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD 
The Yale volleyball team continues to excel not only on the court but also in the classroom. The United States Marine Corps and the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced that more than 1,200 collegiate and high school volleyball teams have earned the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award this season, and for the 16th straight season the Bulldogs were recognized.
.