Through eight seasons at the helm of the Yale volleyball team, Erin Appleman has established herself as one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of Ivy League volleyball.

She has won three Ivy League Championships and was the first volleyball coach in league history to guide a team to victory in an NCAA Championship match, a feat she accomplished in both 2004 and 2008. The second-winningest coach in Yale history at 146-56, her .723 winning percentage is the best all-time at Yale and ranks her 19th among active coaches in all of Division I entering 2011.

In 2010, the Bulldogs finished with a 12-2 conference mark and tied for first place in the Ivy League standings.  At one point during the season, the Bulldogs won 10 straight Ivy matches and forced a one-match playoff against Penn.   Five members of the team earned all-Ivy status, including Kendall Polan, who earned conference rookie of the year honors.

Appleman led Yale to a 21-4 mark in 2009, the best record in program history and the first time the Bulldogs posted back-to-back 20-win seasons since 1995-96. The 2009 Yale team produced five All-Ivy players, including first team honorees Alexis Crusey and Cat Dailey, en route to claiming second place in the Ivy League at 11-3.

“Yale is a tremendous place to coach because of the personal makeup of our players -- the student-athletes on our team know what it means to compete and set high goals or else they wouldn’t be here,” Appleman said. “Our players are dedicated and committed to each other and, because they love this institution, I have no doubt we will play to our potential and improve as a team every single year.”

Yale has finished in first or second place in each of the past seven seasons, winning at least 10 Ancient Eight matches in each campaign as well. Overall, the Bulldogs boast a record of 88-26 (.772) against Ivy League opponents during Appleman’s tenure. In 2009, her graduating seniors posted a career winning percentage of .733 (74-27), the highest winning percentage for any Yale volleyball class to have played four varsity seasons.

“Our volleyball team is surrounded by loyal supporters throughout the campus -- the chemistry between the athletic and academic departments is positive, and our administrative staff encourages our players and coaches to maintain high standards,” she said. “Volleyball at Yale plays a vital role in the development of the total person, and we continually emphasize to our players the importance of positive energy, pride and commitment.”

While at Yale, Appleman has served as the Ivy League representative on the AVCA Head Coaches Division I Committee. She presently is the Chair of the Recruiting Task Force for the AVCA Division I.

Prior to Yale, Appleman spent eight years as an assistant coach at Penn State. During her tenure, the Nittany Lions 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 Junior Volleyball Club for six years and was selected as MVP at the Junior National Tournament in 1985, when her team won the title.

Her husband, Christian Appleman, is the assistant coach for the Yale men’s tennis team and the assistant director of tennis operations at the university’s Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center. They have two children: Justin, 9, and Emma, 7.

Erin Appleman's All-Time Records vs. Opponents

Kevin Laseau has completed seven seasons on Erin Appleman's staff and the Bulldogs have won three Ivy League titles. 

During 2010, the Bulldogs finished 12-2 in the Ivy League, won ten straight confernce matches at one point and tied for first in the confernce standings.  Laseau helped coach five all-Ivy student-athletes that year. 

In 2009, Laseau helped lead the Bulldogs to the best record in program history at 21-4. Laseau was on the sidelines for the Bulldogs’ 2004, 2008 and 2010 Ivy League Championships, along with its NCAA Championship First Round victories.

Yale is 120-47 (.719) during Laseau’s tenure, and has won at least 10 Ivy League matches in all seven of his seasons in New Haven.

Laseau was promoted to associate head coach at Yale in 2008.    

Laseau came to the Elm City with over 20 years of national club coaching experience, which includes a National Junior Championship and three bronze medals in the 16-open division with the prestigious Munciana (Ind.) Volleyball club.

As an assistant coach, Laseau helped guide the Munciana 16-open squad to a national title in 1997, a bronze medal in 1999, and a second-place finish at the AAU Nationals in 1989. Laseau became head coach in 2000 and led the team to back-to-back bronze medals in 2000 and 2001. In addition, he coached in all but one Junior Olympics tournament from 1987-2003.

Laseau, who has worked at volleyball camps at Ball State, Purdue and Nebraska, spent one season as an assistant varsity coach at Muncie Burris High School (Ind.), which was ranked first in the state most of that season.

In 2003, Laseau wrote for PrepVolleyball.com, the Internet's only junior volleyball website, and served as a radio color commentator for Purdue volleyball matches.

A 1992 graduate of Ball State, Laseau played four seasons in the backcourt for Don Shondell and the Volleycards, who won back-to-back MIVA Championships during that time.

Amy Mahinalani DeGroot, a former All-American at University of San Diego, is in her first year as Yale volleyball assistant coach.

DeGroot, the 2008 West Coast Conference Player of the Year, helped lead the Toreros to four league titles before graduating in 2010.  As an outside hitter, DeGroot earned All-West Coast Conference First-Team honors three times.

"I'm very excited to have Amy work with our players here at Yale," Yale Head Coach Erin Appleman said. "Being an All–American and playing at a top-25 program, she has the experience to push our players to the next level. Her youthful energy, combined with her top notch experience will be a huge asset to the program."

During her senior year in 2010, DeGroot finished second on San Diego in blocks, digs and kills.  She posted a match-high 17 kills in an NCAA Tournament win over Long Beach State.

In her junior year, DeGroot led the team with 392 kills, earned MVP honors at both the Aztec Invitational and USD tournaments and was named WCC Player of the Week four times.

In addition to being named an Honorable Mention All-America in 2008, DeGroot won San Diego Hall of Champions Amateur Player of the Year in 2008 and 2010.

After college, DeGroot continued to play competitive volleyball at the professional level in Puerto Rico in 2011.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, DeGroot attended high school in Montana where she won state player of the year honors in volleyball and basketball.

In addition to her on-the-court accolades, DeGroot is also active in the community.  DeGroot has worked with the Boys and Girls Club of San Diego in each of the last four years.