Friday, November 22, 7 p.m.

Yale (15-7, 10-2 Ivy) at Princeton (16-7, 10-2 Ivy) - Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats

Bulldogs Clinch Three-Peat

Yale last Saturday clinched its third straight Ivy League title with a 3-2 victory over Princeton in New Haven.  The title marks the 11th overall in program history and the 10th for Yale head coach Erin Appleman.   

Ivy League Playoff

For the second time in three years, Yale will face Princeton in a one-match playoff to determine the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  The Bulldogs and Tigers finished the regular season tied with a 10-2 mark. The two teams split the season series in 2019 with each team winning on their home court.  In 2017, the Tigers won the playoff. 

Arnautou Earns Ivy League Player of the Week

Yale senior setter Frances Arnautou had 45 assists, nine digs, five blocks and five kills in a 3-2 victory over Princeton last Saturday and was named Ivy League Player of the Week for the second time this season. The San Francisco native had 10 assists and paced the Bulldogs to a .478 hitting percentage in the final set of Saturday's victory.  She also had a kill and a block assist in the final set during last Saturday's win.   

History Lesson

This is the fifth Ivy League playoff in program history for the Bulldogs. They are 2-2 in this round.  In 2004, Yale won a four-way playoff with Cornell, Harvard and Princeton.  The Bulldogs also won at Harvard in 2014.  Yale has dropped matches in 2010 to Penn and 2017 to Princeton. 

Spreading the Wealth

The Bulldogs have five student athletes averaging at least two kills per set in Ivy League  play.  Rebekah Nemeth (2.84), Samantha Bray (2.73), Ellis DeJardin (2.44), Kathryn Attar (2.38) and team captain Izzy Simqu (2.38).

Serving Aces

The Bulldogs have a 58-43 edge in service aces against opponents in Ivy League play. Yurika Boyd leads the team against conference opponents with 12 aces, followed by Renee Schultz (11), Frances Arnautou (10) and Maile Somera (10).  

Defense Wins

In Ivy League play, the Bulldogs are holding opponents to a .208 hitting percentage, which ranks second in the conference. 

The Season Series

Yale and Princeton split a pair of matches with each team winning on its home court. Last Saturday, the Bulldogs made clutch plays in the final set to defeat the Tigers.  Yale hit .478 in the final set, led by 10 assists from Frances Arnautou.  Ellis DeJardin led the Bulldogs with 14 kills in the match and added nine digs. The Tigers defeated Yale 3-0 on Oct. 13 in Princeton in a match televised on ESPNU and snapped the Bulldogs' eight-match win streak.  Samantha Bray led the Bulldogs with 10 kills while Yurika Boyd had a team-high 13 digs.