NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The two-time defending Ivy League champion Yale Volleyball program will travel to tournaments at the College of Charleston and Penn State, as part of a challenging 2024 schedule announced today.
"We're very excited about the up-coming season and the challenges this schedule presents," said
Erin Appleman, Yale's head coach and two-time reigning Ivy League Coach of the Year. "As returning champions, our non-conference matches will help us get ready for Ivy League competition."
The Bulldogs last fall captured the Ivy League title for the fifth time in six seasons and 13th time overall. Yale opens the season and begin the defense of its latest championship at the College of Charleston Classic on Sept. 6.
The Bulldogs will face the University of the Pacific and tournament host College of Charleston on Friday, Sept. 6. The next day, Yale closes out the weekend against University of South Carolina Upstate.
The 2024 Yale Invitational features Villanova, Fairfield and Colgate. The Bulldogs' home-opener will be against Villanova on Sept. 13 at 7 p.m., and the tournament will continue on Saturday against Fairfield (5 p.m.) and conclude on Sunday against Colgate (12 p.m.).
The next weekend, Yale will play two matches at the Penn State Classic in University Park, Pa. The Bulldogs will face James Madison on Sept. 21 and play seven-time national champion Penn State the next day in a rematch of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Yale plays its first three Ivy League matches on the road starting at Brown on Sept. 28. The next weekend Yale will play at Penn and Princeton.
The Bulldogs open the home portion of the Ivy League schedule against Cornell on Oct. 11. From there, six of the next eight matches will be at home – including senior night on Nov. 9 against Harvard.
The Ivy League regular season concludes with two road matches. Yale will travel to Columbia on Nov. 15, and will close out the regular season at Cornell the next night.
The conference postseason tournament will take place Nov. 22-23 at a site to be determined. Yale hosted and won the tournament as the No. 1 seed the last two seasons, including last year with a 14-0 conference mark.
Yale finished 2023 with a 21-4 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in school history. The Bulldogs return four All-Ivy selections from 2023, including
Carly Diehl who earned the conference player of the year award.
