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 13 Ivy titles, 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, six 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 and the sport's all-time leader in Ivy League titles, has guided the Bulldogs to the first- or second-best Ivy record in 19 of the last 20 seasons. She completed the 2023 season with a career record of 383-137 and a .737 winning percentage. In Ivy League play, she is a remarkable 239-54 with an .816 winning percentage -- by far the best in Yale history. In addition, Appleman's teams have won three straight Ivy League Postseason Tournaments (2022-2024).
Under her tutelage, seven Bulldogs have earned Ivy League Player of the Year honors, seven were named Rookie of the Year, three won the Defensive Player of the Year award and there have been 41 first team All-Ivy selections. In addition, Appleman has coached three AVCA All-America selections and seven who were named to the AVCA All-Region team.
Most recently, Appleman led Yale to Ivy League championships in 2017, 2018 and 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024. In 2022, the Bulldogs surpassed the 20-win mark for the fifth time under Appleman. No other Ivy program has accomplished this feat more than twice during her tenure. Also in 2022, Yale finished 23-3 overall – the program's highest win total since 1996 -- and also captured the Ivy League's post-season tournament to earn a NCAA Tournament bid.
Appleman has been named Ivy League Coach of the Year in 2018, 2022 and 2023. Her 2018 squad finished with a 19-5 overall record, including 13-1 in Ivy play, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
There have also been many unprecedented streaks for the program during Appleman’s tenure. 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. More recently, Yale won 17 straight matches in 2022 -- the second longest streak in the nation at that time.
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 guided the Bulldogs to another NCAA Tournament victory in 2008 when they defeated Ohio University. That highlighted another memorable season with Yale finishing 21-9 overall and 13-1 in Ivy play.
Several individual players have excelled under Appleman’s tutelage. Kendall Polan ’14 was the first three-time Ivy League Player of the Year selection in league history. In addition, Polan along with Alexis Crusey ’10, Kelly Johnson ’16 and Mollie Rogers ’15 were all four-time first team All-Ivy selections.
Yale’s success under Appleman hasn’t been limited to the court. The Bulldogs have excelled in the classroom as well. They have won an AVCA Academic Team Award in 18 straight seasons, had 26 Academic All-Ivy selections and 14 Academic All-District honorees. In addition, Maya Midzik ’16 was a Rhodes Scholar finalist.
Prior to Yale, Appleman spent eight years as an assistant coach at Penn State. During her tenure, the Nittany Lions captured the NCAA Championship in 1999, reached the NCAA Final Four five times (1993-94, 1997-99) and won five Big Ten championships. In addition, she served as an assistant coach for the USA Junior and Youth National Team from 1994-94. Prior to Penn State, Appleman served as an assistant coach at Cal State-Northridge and the University of San Diego.
Appleman is a 1990 graduate of San Diego State, where she served as volleyball captain and was voted the team’s Most Valuable Player in 1989. Despite playing just two seasons for the Aztecs, she currently sits fourth on the university’s all-time list with 3,144 career assists. Before transferring to San Diego State, she competed for two years at United States International University. In addition, she was a member of the Asics Tiger volleyball club for six years and was selected as MVP at USAV Junior Nationals in 1985, when her team won the title.
Appleman and her husband Christian have two children: Justin and Emma.
