Trio of Matches Awaits Bulldogs at Seton Hall Tournament
Complete
Match Notes as PDF
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – After suffering its first
setback of the 2009 season at the hands of Virginia Tech on
Saturday at the American Volleyball Classic, the Yale volleyball
team looks to get back on the winning track at this weekend’s
Seton Hall Tournament. In addition to the host Pirates, the
Bulldogs will challenge Hofstra and the New Jersey Institute of
Technology. Yale enters the weekend at 4-1.
Road Warriors
The Bulldogs defeated American University on Friday in their only
true road match of 2009. Yale’s loss to Virginia Tech in the
American Volleyball Classic dropped the Bulldogs to 0-1 on neutral
courts this season, snapping a four-match winning streak in such
situations dating back to the 2008 campaign. Yale went 4-1 at
neutral sites in 2008, as well as 8-4 in road matches.
Last Time Out
The Bulldogs downed the host Eagles in four sets and were swept by
Virginia Tech at the American Volleyball Classic in Washington,
D.C. last weekend. The Hokies, who represent Yale’s only loss
thus far in 2009, won the weekend invitational and remain unbeaten
at 9-0 entering this weekend. Senior Alexis Crusey earned
All-Tournament Team honors for Yale and a slot on the Ivy League
Weekly Honor Roll.
Scouting the Pride (Sept. 18 – 5 p.m.)
The Hofstra Pride, entering the weekend at 2-9, were selected to
finish fifth (out of 10) in the Colonial Athletic Association
Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Senior Monica Knight has carried the
load on offense, as she has accounted for nearly 34% of
Hofstra’s total attacks (479-1411) en route to posting a
team-best 3.77 kills per set. Knight is also third on the team with
2.95 digs per set, while Kylee Maneja leads the way in that
category with 3.74 digs per set. Setter Chrissey Cruz has
distributed 8.28 assists per frame.
Bulldogs vs. Pride
Yale is 2-5 all-time against Hofstra, though Head Coach Erin
Appleman is 1-0 against the Pride. The Bulldogs swept Hofstra in
the 2008 Yale Invitational, snapping the Pride’s two-match
winning streak in the series.
Scouting the Highlanders (Sept. 19 – 1
p.m.)
Selected by the coaches to finish sixth (of seven) in the
inaugural season of Great West Conference volleyball, the New
Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders started their season at
8-0 and currently hold a record of 9-2. Renata Pandolfo leads a
balanced Highlanders’ attack with 3.37 kills per set, while
Kristy Haeckel averages 2.20 kills per frame with a team-best
hitting percentage of .310. Captain Sabrina Baby currently leads
the nation with 6.74 digs per set. The offense is run through Erica
Schultz, who has amassed 9.62 assists per set in 34 sets of
work.
Bulldogs vs. Highlanders
This will be the first-ever meeting between Yale and Division I
newcomer NJIT.
Against Common Opponents
The Highlanders fell to both American (1-3) and Virginia Tech
(0-3) at last weekend’s American Volleyball Classic.
Scouting the Pirates (Sept. 19 – 6:30
p.m.)
Selected to finish 12th (of 15) in the Big East Preseason
Coaches’ Poll, Seton Hall split four matches at
Fordham’s Rose Hill Classic this past weekend to move to 4-8
on the season. Senior Allie Matters, who became the Pirates career
digs leader on Friday night. has tallied double-figure digs in 49
consecutive matches, the second-longest streak in the country.
Matters currently ranks second in the Big East with an average of
4.60 digs per set. Sarah Osmun leads the Pirates with 3.16 kills
per set, while freshman setter Olivia Trudeau has run the offense
to the tune of 8.93 assists per set.
Bulldogs vs. Pirates
Yale won the only meeting between the two programs, a 3-1 victory
on Oct. 31, 1987 as a part of the Syracuse Invitational.
Getting Back on Track
Not including the season-ending defeat at Penn State in the NCAA
Championship Second Round, the Bulldogs went 4-1 in matches
following a loss in 2008. Yale’s only consecutive losses last
season came last September at the Penn State Classic against the
eventual-National Champion Lady Lions and Saint Louis, a team that
finished 2008 ranked at No. 21 in the nation.
On Crusey Control
One of the most dominant players in the Ivy League for the past
three seasons, outside hitter Alexis Crusey started her senior
campaign on the right track, grabbing All-Tournament Team honors at
both the Yale Invitational and the American Volleyball Classic.
Crusey, a three-time first team All-Ivy honoree, is averaging 3.07
kills and 3.07 digs per set through the first 15 sets of 2009. The
unanimous 2006 Ivy League Rookie of the Year currently ranks eighth
in Yale history with 1,079 kills and needs just 17 digs to eclipse
1,000 for her career.
Cat Power
Senior outside hitter Cat Dailey, the reigning Ivy League Player
of the Year, picked up where she left off in 2008 by scorching the
competition at the Bulldogs’ season-opening Yale
Invitational. The Newport Beach, Calif. native hit at a sizzling
.487 clip, notching 39 kills on 78 attempts with just one error en
route to being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Dailey, who averaged 4.88 kills per set, rounded out her weekend
with a 3.38 digs per set average, four service aces, three blocks
and three assists. Her final contest of the weekend was her best as
Dailey hit a remarkable .607, piling up a match-high 17 kills on 28
errorless swings in a convincing Yale sweep of Colorado. She also
picked up four service aces and nine digs to fall just shy of her
second double-double of the weekend. In addition to her MVP nod,
Dailey was named Ivy League Player of the Week and garnered
national attention as a CVU.com Top Performer.
Welcome to the Machine
Freshman Haley Wessels has proved to be a force at the net in the
early stages of her first collegiate season. Wessels is currently
averaging 1.50 kills and a team-best 0.88 blocks per set as one of
just two players to have appeared in all 16 sets. The Dallas, Texas
native earned an All-Tournament Team nod and a slot on the Ivy
League Weekly Honor Roll for her performance at the Yale
Invitational on Sept. 4-5.
The Ministry of Defense
As potent as the Yale offense has been thus far in 2009, the
Bulldogs’ defense has certainly done its part in the
squad’s 4-1 start. Yale has outblocked its opponents 38-19.5,
led by 14 blocks from freshman Haley Wessels and 11 stuffs courtesy
of senior Alexis Crusey. Additionally, the Bulldogs’ five
opponents have hit just .154 (184-98-558) against Yale.
All Set, All Set
The Bulldogs have utilized a pair of setters in 2009: junior Kate
Parker and freshman Kerry Clavadetscher. Parker, who made her first
career start against Georgetown on Sept. 4, has distributed 73
assists (8.11 per set) in nine sets of work and also has tallied 10
kills on 16 swings. Clavadetscher has piled up 7.10 assists per set
over the 10 sets through five Yale matches. The freshman has also
averaged 2.10 digs and has had a hand in four Bulldog blocks.
High School Heroines
PrepVolleyball.com, the Internet’s first and only website
dedicated to covering club and high school volleyball on a national
level, selected the Yale Class of 2013 as a High Honorable Mention
in its annual rankings of the nation’s top recruiting
classes, as determined by a panel of over 100 collegiate coaches.
The Yale class of 2013 consists of Anya Cekauskas, Kerry
Clavadetscher, Julia Cortopassi and Haley Wessels. Two of the four
Ivy League recruiting classes to ever receive High Honorable
Mention status have been Yale squads. The Bulldogs’ Class of
2010 (current seniors Alexis Crusey, Laurel Johnson, Julia
Mailander and Lydia Mailander) also earned the distinction in
2006.
On the Court and in the Classroom
The American Volleyball Coaches Association has announced that the
Bulldogs are among the recipients of the AVCA Team Academic Award.
The award has been presented annually since 1993 to collegiate and
high school volleyball teams that have displayed excellence in the
classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30
cumulative team grade-point average.
Trend Setters
Yale is the only Ivy League volleyball program to notch a win in
the NCAA Championships. The 2004 Bulldogs, the first Ancient Eight
squad to host an NCAA Championship match, knocked off Albany in
five sets to tally the first postseason win in conference history.
The 2008 Yale team then defeated Ohio in the University Park (Pa.)
Subregional to become the first Ivy League team to win an NCAA
Championship match away from its home court.
Beginning the Defense
The defending Ivy League Champion Bulldogs will kick off the 2009
Ancient Eight schedule on Friday, Oct. 2 against Brown. Action from
the John J. Lee Amphitheater begins at 7 p.m.
Beaten By the Best
The Bulldogs’ record-setting 2008 season ended in the NCAA
Championship Second Round at the hands of No. 1 Penn State. The
match, which was held on the Lady Lions’ home court, was the
34th consecutive sweep for the eventual national champions, who
dropped only two sets all season en route to a 38-0 finish. In
total, all but one of Yale’s six losses in 2008 came at the
hands of teams that advanced to the NCAA Championship
tournament.
2009 Schedule Notes
The 2009 schedule consists of 13 home matches and 12 road
matches…Colorado and New Jersey Institute of Technology are
both first-time opponents for Yale…Under Coach Appleman,
Yale has only played five of its 2009 non-conference opponents
(Binghamton, Central Connecticut State, Georgetown, Hofstra,
Quinnipiac). The Bulldogs are a combined 7-0 in those
matches…Hofstra is the only repeat opponent from the 2008
non-conference schedule…Last season, Yale and Brown played a
home-and-home series to open Ivy League play. This year, the series
is split as the first and last matches of the Ancient Eight
schedule…The Bulldogs will play three in-state opponents,
the most Nutmeg State foes they have challenged since 2005.
Beach Blanket Broadcast
The Bulldogs relocated their morning practice on Friday, Aug. 28
from the friendly confines of the John J. Lee Amphitheater to
scenic Hammonasset Beach in Madison, Conn. The defending Ivy League
Champions hit the sand at Meig’s Point with the crew of the
Fox 61 Morning News as a part of the “Zip Trip”
segment, which highlights Connecticut-based attractions. Coach
Appleman and members of the Yale team fielded questions from anchor
Jeff Valin, while host Logan Byrnes took a few practice swings with
the team.
‘Til the Next Episode
Yale wraps up its 2009 non-conference slate next weekend as Central
Connecticut State, Quinnipiac and Binghamton come to New Haven for
the Yale Classic.
Information
Yale
Volleyball
Hofstra
Volleyball
New
Jersey Institute of Technology Volleyball
Seton
Hall Volleyball
Media Links
Live
Stats (all matches)
Streaming
Video (Yale vs. Seton Hall)
report filed by Drew M. Kingsley, Yale Sports Publicity