Yale Rallies for 3-2 Win at Dartmouth
HANOVER, N.H. - Yale rallied back from a 2-1 deficit to claim a 3-2 (17-25, 28-26, 22-25 25-13, 15-12) win at Dartmouth Saturday afternoon, helping the Bulldogs keep pace in the Ivy League standings. Bridget Hearst had a team-high 21 kills, hitting .410, and Erica Reetz added 18. Kelly Ozurovich had 23 digs.
The teams split the first two sets, with Dartmouth taking the first 25-17 and Yale taking the second 28-26. The Big Green won the third 25-22, but Yale responded with a 25-13 win to tie the match at two. The Bulldogs won the fifth set 15-12.
"It was great to win on the road," Yale head coach Erin Appleman said. "Especially against a good team like Dartmouth."
Up 11-10, the Bulldogs turned to Hearst to help pull away. Hearst, who added one block solo and three block assists, slammed her final kill of the match and a Big Green error followed on the next point to give Yale a 13-10 edge.
"Bridget played great tonight," Appleman said. "She gave us a much needed lift with her hitting and her blocking."
Dartmouth followed with consecutive kills, but followed with an error on the next point. Reetz, who recorded her fourth straight double-double, ended the match with a kill.
Hearst was one of the many standout performances tonight for Yale, which won its second five-set conference match of the season. Kendall Polan just missed a triple-double with 39 assists, 21 digs and nine kills, while Kerry Clavadetscher added a double-double with 14 assists and 11 digs.
Down 2-1 in sets, the Bulldogs stormed back to defeat the Big Green in the fourth. Up 6-5 in the set, Yale scored 14 of the next 17 points to force a fifth and deciding period.
After dropping the first set, the Bulldogs battled to overtake the Big Green in a decision that surpassed 25 points. Tied at 26, Yale tallied the final two points thanks to a Dartmouth attack error and a Hearst kill.
Kendall Houston led Dartmouth with 47 assists, 19 digs and seven kills. The Big Green dropped to 12-7 overall and 3-5 overall.
Yale (12-7, 6-2 Ivy League) has now won four straight. The Bulldogs host the two teams that are ahead of them in the league standings -- Princeton and Penn -- at Lee Amphitheater next weekend.