Volleyball Challenges League Leading Yale in 3-0 Setback

Saturday, October 26

Providence, RI

2:00 PM

Brown University

10-8, 2-6Ivy

Yale University

11-6, 7-1Ivy

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Yale	25	26	25	3
Brown	22	24	21	0

Volleyball Challenges League Leading Yale in 3-0 Setback

10/26/2019 4:56:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior Makena Ehlert and freshman Sophia Miller each tallied a match-high 17 kills, and freshman Kaitlyn Wong registered a match-best 19 digs, but Brown University volleyball fell to Yale University, 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-21), on Saturday afternoon at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

Opening the second half of Ivy League play, the Bears (10-8, 2-6 Ivy) pushed the Bulldogs (11-6, 7-1 Ivy) – winners of 11 of their last 12 matches and the defending Ivy champions – in each frame, including forcing extra points in set two, before the visitors – who have won at least a share of eight of the last 11 Ivy titles – pulled out the win and remained atop the conference standings.

"We culturally turned a corner last weekend," Brown head coach Ahen Kim said. "The challenge this week was to maintain that level of effort and composure through each point. We made a deliberate effort to do that in practice this week, and it was good to see that happen today. We were able to rebound from a mistake and fight back harder."

Ehlert (Orange County, Calif.) totaled double-figure kills for the 16^th time in 18 matches this season and added nine digs while Miller – the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week – compiled her fourth double-double of the season on 17 kills and 11 digs. Miller has landed double-figure kills in six of her last seven outings.

Wong (Los Altos, Calif.) has now notched double-figure digs in 10 of her last 12 matches.

Brown totaled 11.0 team blocks behind six blocks from freshman Audra Curtin (Tampa, Fla.), five blocks from senior Jacqueline Jacobs (Atlanta, Ga.), and four blocks from junior Eliza Grover (Menlo Park, Calif.).

Junior Bailie Salk (Tiburon, Calif.) distributed a team-high 23 assists, and sophomore Kristin Sellers (Menlo Park, Calif.) contributed 15 assists and seven digs.

"We stayed steady with our game plan," Kim said. "We did a lot of good things. We out-blocked them and our overall hitting percentage was higher every set. I saw some really good execution and discipline."

In set one, Brown gained a 14-7 lead before the Bulldogs used a 7-0 run to knot the score at 14-14. The two sides then stood tied at 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 prior to Yale moving ahead 22-20. The Bears came within 23-22 behind two kills from Miller, but the visitors took the next two points. Miller finished the frame with seven kills on .375 hitting.

Set two witnessed 15 ties and five lead changes before Yale emerged with a 26-24 win in extra points. Neither side held a lead larger than two points until Brown used a 3-0 run to move ahead 18-15. The Bears remained ahead at 23-19 prior to Yale countering with five straight points to gain a 24-23 edge. Brown equalized at 24-24 on a kill from Miller before the Bulldogs took the next two points.

Ehlert terminated on nine kills on .571 hitting in the second period while Wong came up with nine digs.

Set three saw another 11 ties and five lead changes, but Yale closed the match with a 25-21 set win. Trailing 16-13, Brown countered with a 5-0 burst to pull ahead 18-16. Yale then used a 6-1 run to re-gain a 22-19 edge. The Bears cut the margin to 23-21 before the Bulldogs closed the frame. Miller charted seven kills and eight digs in the stanza.

For Yale, Ellis DeJardin landed 10 kills, Frances Arnautou tallied a double-double on 33 assists and 14 digs, and Maile Somera made 16 digs.

Next, Brown opens the month of November with Ivy road matches at Harvard on Nov. 1 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) and at Dartmouth on Nov. 2 at 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+).

Video of all Brown volleyball home contests and all Ivy League matches, home and away, will be broadcast live on ESPN+.