Nov. 3, 2006

Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. - For the first time since late September, Yale is looking up at someone in the Ivy League standings. The Bulldogs lost to Princeton 30-25, 30-16, 30-26 Friday night at Dillon Gymnasium to fall into third place behind Cornell and Princeton. Yale now stands 13-7 overall, 8-3 in League play, while Princeton improves to 18-2, 8-2 in the Ivy League.

Yale got off to a fast start, taking an early 7-4 lead. With Yale leading 18-15, Princeton went on a five-point run to take a 21-18 advantage. The Bulldogs won the next point, but Princeton rallied for the next four to go in front 25-19. The teams traded points the rest of the way, and the Tigers took the game by a score of 30-25.

The Tigers took the momentum gathered late in game one and used it to dominate game two. Princeton jumped out to an early 7-3 lead, then used an eight-point run to turn a 15-11 edge into an 11-point advantage. Princeton hit .421 (20 kills, 4 errors, 38 attacks) in the game to win easily, 30-16.

Yale built a 3-0 lead to start game three, but Princeton clawed back to tie the score at 6-6. The squads then traded the next 18 points. Lydia Mailander finally broke the string with consecutive kills that gave the Bulldogs a 17-15 advantage. Princeton won the next two points, and the back-and-forth play resumed, as there were six more ties the rest of the way, the last at 24-24. Princeton won the next point and never trailed again. An attack error by Alexis Crusey finished off a 30-26 comeback win for the Tigers in the game, and sealed a 3-0 win in the match for Princeton.

Crusey had 13 kills and 11 digs to lead the Bulldog effort. Lydia Mailander notched 11 kills and southern New Jersey native Laurel Johnson, playing in front of family and friends, tallied eight kills. Shannon Farrell posted nine kills and 11 digs, while Ally Mendenhall registered 35 assists and 11 digs.

Lindsay Ensign, the Ivy League leader in kills, slammed 15 in the win. Parker Henritze added 11 kills, 15 digs and four blocks for the Tigers. Sheena Donohue and Taylor Carroll each had nine kills, while Emily Turner posted 15 digs. Bailey Robinson dished out 48 assists in the win. Princeton hit .305 (54-15-128) as a team in the match.

The Bulldogs return to action Saturday at 4 p.m. against Penn in their final road match of the season. Yale has lost three out of four, while Penn has won three straight five-game matches. Yale posted a 3-0 victory when the squads met in New Haven, and has won five straight against the Quakers.

Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity