The women's volleyball team lost to a Yale squad that is undefeated in Ivy League play Saturday in New Haven, Conn. The Bears fell in straight sets, 25-21, 25-21, 25-22, despite remaining competitive in each frame.
After tying the first set 19-19, the Bears (5-13, 1-7 Ivy) fell behind the Bulldogs (12-5, 8-0) and went on to drop the pivotal set. In the second set, the Bears came back from a nine point deficit and cut it to two as a result of a surge precipitated by strong play at the net and several Yale errors.
The Bears led for the majority of the final set, but the Bulldogs' superior blocking and junior Kelly Johnson's 12 kills ultimately proved too much.
Defensive specialist Kathryn Conner '15 had a strong performance, leading the Bears in digs with 17. The team registered 64 kills to Yale's 62.
Outside hitter Katrina Post '13 contributed 6 kills and also demonstrated her serving skills in the match with three aces.
But the Bears continued to be outplayed on offense. Yale ended the match with a .178 hitting percentage, topping Bruno's .068.
"Yale put up a really good block and had fast offense," said captain Kathryn Glickman '13. "It was definitely a little challenging for our block to close every time."
Glickman said that the team knew the match against the reigning Ivy champs would not be an easy one.
"We always go into our games against them knowing they are stiff competition," she said. "I think this season knowing that they are the team to beat helped us mentally prepare."
The Bears will play conference foes Cornell (6-13, 2-6) and Columbia (9-8, 4-4) this weekend at the Pizzitola Center.
"We need to play like we played against Yale, and then some," Glickman said. "We need to take what works from that game, build on it, apply that to the next three weekends and we can walk away with some great wins."
