This weekend, the women’s volleyball team (14-4, 5-3 Ivy) lost in straight sets to Yale (13-3, 8-0 Ivy) at home.
Entering the game, Head Coach Taylor Virtue had achieved both the most total wins and the most Ivy League wins of any first-year coach in Brown’s volleyball history.
Despite losing in straight sets, the Bears were not dominated by the Bulldogs, managing to hold close to them in every set. Statistically, the Bears had 42 kills to Yale’s 46, four aces to Yale’s five and six blocks to eight, respectively.
“Our level of play was reasonable all night,” Virtue wrote in a message to The Herald via Brown Athletics. “We struggled to maintain that level through the end of each set but that doesn't change the fact that we are playing at a high level.”
Bruno’s attack was led by Jilienne Widener ’24 with 10 kills and Cierra Jenkins ’24 with 32 assists.
“My strong offensive performance was due in part to our consistent serve receive and Cierra's ability to put up a hittable ball no matter where she was on the court,” Widener wrote in a message to The Herald via Brown Athletics. “Additionally, the team had numerous film sessions throughout the week to scout Yale's defense, so I was able to practice shots each day in practice leading up to the match.”
The Bears also had three players who hit with a hitting percentage over .300: Widener, Gabby Derrick ’25 and Mariia Sidorova ’26.
“Mental toughness contributes greatly to having frequent success and low errors,” Widener wrote. “The ability to move on after errors and focus on the next … thing is crucial for success.”
The first set started with a back and forth between the Bears and the Bulldogs, with both teams exchanging the lead until reaching a TV timeout with Yale up 15-14.
Coming back from the timeout, Bruno scored four straight points including a kill from Beau Vanderlaan ’25 and two aces from Victoria Vo ’25 to take the lead by three points — tied for the greatest advantage of the set with Yale’s earlier 6-3 lead. After the two teams each traded points, the Bears maintained a 19-16 lead.
Yale then responded with a run of its own, scoring five straight points and regaining the lead at 21-20. The Bears never recovered from this run, and — despite scoring a consolation point — were defeated 25-21.
Losing the lead close to the end of the set would become a theme for the Bears.
“At the end of the day, Yale played cleaner volleyball at the end of each set,” Widener wrote.
The second set seemed to be leaning mostly in Yale’s favor after they jumped out to an early 9-4 lead, but the Bears won six of the next seven points to tie the Bulldogs at 10 apiece.
From then on, neither side could maintain an advantage until the Bears managed to pull away to set point at 24-22. But Bruno then lost four straight points and the set.
The third set began in nearly the same way as the second, with a close battle between both teams, neither gaining an extensive lead: Throughout the entire set, neither team maintained a lead greater than three points.
Despite the set being drawn at 23 points apiece, Yale was able to score two straight points to seal the set and the match, defeating the Bears for the second time this season.
“Being able to make plays at the end of matches is something that we have been focusing on in practice, and we will continue to do so,” Virtue wrote.
The Bears now look ahead to four straight away games against Ivy opponents and will take on Penn this Friday.
Dennis Carey is a Sports Editor who enjoys playing volleyball, listening to and collecting vinyl records, and poorly playing the guitar in his spare time.
