NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The Bulldogs kicked off their home schedule with a five-set victory over Villanova at the John J. Lee Amphitheater on Friday night. With the win, Yale extended its win streak to four.
The scores of the match were 25-14, 21-25, 18-25, 25-18 and 15-10.
Mila Yarich had a match-high 21 kills -- including six in the final set -- and
Carly Diehl dished out 54 assists to lead the Bulldogs. Yale took the final two sets to close out the victory.
"We had a great crowd tonight," Yale head coach
Erin Appleman said. "We played really well late, and I'm proud of our effort and heart that we showed tonight against a really good Villanova team."
In the fourth set, Yale jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a Yarich kill and back-to-back block assists from Chidrea Chukwumerije and
Audrey Leak. The Bulldogs scored six of the first eight points of the set and increased their lead to as many as seven (23-16) after a kill from
Cara Shultz.
Yale kept the momentum going in the fifth and scored eight of the first 10 points.
Maile Somera capped the run with an ace, while Leak had two kills, and Yarich and
Gigi Barr also had one each to start the final set.
Villanova (3-7) cut the deficit to 11-8 before Yarich delivered consecutive kills. Leak closed out the match with her 12th kill of the match.
Earlier in the evening, Sacred Heart swept Fordham in the first match of the Yale Invitational. The Bulldogs will play both teams tomorrow starting with Fordham at 1 p.m., and Sacred Heart at 7 p.m.
