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Yale Practice Day (Thurs.) Interviews: Haley Wessels | Kendall Polan | Kelly Johnson 

Photo and video courtesy of Yale Sports Publicity

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Ivy League champion Yale will face Bowling Green in the opening round of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship at Penn State's Rec Hall in University Park, Pa. The first round match is slated for 5 p.m. 

The Bulldogs enter the NCAA Championship having won 15 straight matches on their way to an 18-5 mark. Having not suffered a loss since September 15, they completed the Ivy League slate a perfect 14-0 - just the second in League history and just the sixth unbeaten Ancient Eight record. In the latest release of the RPI on Sunday, Yale was ranked No. 66.

Yale will be making its fourth-ever NCAA appearance. Last season, the Bulldogs faced top-ranked Southern California and lost 3-0 in the opening round. 

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Friday, November 30
NCAA First Round (at University Park, Pa.)
Yale vs. Bowling Green, 5 pm

Saturday, December 1
NCAA Second Round (at University Park, Pa.)
Yale/Bowling Green winner vs. Penn State/Binghamton winner, 7:30 pm

THE IVY LEAGUE IN THE NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
• Prior to this season, the Ivy League has made 18 all-time appearances in the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship:
    Brown (1996, 1998), Cornell (1993, 2005, 2006), Penn (2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010),
    Princeton (1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2007), Yale (2004, 2008, 2011)
• Ivy League teams hold a combined 3-18 record in NCAA Championship play. Two of the three wins have come at PSU's Rec Hall. 
• Yale earned the League's first NCAA win, a 3-0 win over Albany in 2004.
• Yale also earned a first round victory in 2008, a 3-2 win over Ohio (at Rec Hall).
• Penn owns the League's third NCAA victory, a 3-1 win over Army in 2009 (at Rec Hall).

YALE BULLDOGS IN THE NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
• 2012 marks Yale's fourth all-time NCAA Championship appearance.
• Yale's last appearance in the NCAA Tournament came in 2011, a 3-0 loss to top-ranked and seventh-seeded Southern California.
• Yale is 2-1 all-time in the first round of NCAA Tournament action, with wins over Albany (2004) and Ohio (2008).
• The Bulldogs are 2-3 all-time in Championship play:
    2004 – Yale def. Albany, 3-1, first round (30-28, 30-21, 31-33, 30-22)
            –  Minnesota (eventual runner-up) def. Yale, 3-0, second round (30-17, 30-18, 30-19)
    2008 – Yale def. Ohio, 3-2, first round (25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 17-25, 16-14)
            – Penn St. (eventual champion) def. Yale, 3-0, second round (25-18, 25-11, 25-12)
    2011 – Southern California (eventual national semifinalist) def. Yale, 3-0, first round (25-13, 25-13, 25-18)

YALE (18-5) VS. BOWLING GREEN (21-10)
• First-ever meeting between Yale and Bowling Green.
• Bowling Green won the Mid-American Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Falcons won five-set matches in the semifinals and final to claim the conference's automatic bid.
• This is Bowling Green's second-ever NCAA Championship appearance. The Falcons lost to Wisconsin in the 1991 opening round in their only other NCAA appearance. 
• Bowling Green has won 17 of its last 20 matches, while Yale has won 15 straight. 
• Bowling Green entered the tournament with an RPI rank of 53, while Yale's RPI rank was 66.
• Yale features five players who earned All-Ivy honors this season, including League Player of the Year Kendall Polan and League Rookie of the Year Kelly Johnson.
• Bowling Green had three players earn All-MAC honors. Paige Penrod had a career-high 30 kills in a match against Utah earlier this season. She earned first team All-MAC honors along with teammates Danielle Tonyan and Lindsey Butterfield.
• Yale head coach Erin Appleman served eight years as an assistant coach at Penn State and won a national title with the Nittany Lions in 1999 along with making five NCAA Final Four appearances. 

YALE VS. PENN STATE (29-2)/BINGHAMTON (13-17)
• Penn State is one of two teams to earn a spot in all 32 NCAA Championships. The Nittany Lions are also hosting a first and second round of the NCAA Championship for the 23rd consecutive year and the 26th time overall. All-time, PSU is 49-3 in NCAA matches at Rec Hall. 
• The Big Ten champs, Penn State is the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. The Nittany Lions are five-time national champions, the last coming in 2010. 
• Binghamton, champions of America East, is the only sub-.500 team in the 64-team field. The Bearcats upset top-seeded Albany to win the conference tournament title and earn an automatic bid into the field. 
• An America East champ has not won an NCAA match since 2007 when Albany beat Cleveland State.
• Binghamton is making its third NCAA appearance and are facing Penn State for the third time (2005 and 2009). 
• Binghamton and Yale last met in the 2009 regular season as part of the Yale Classic. Yale won that match, 3-0. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 3-0, having recorded 3-0 sweeps in each meeting.
• Penn State and Yale last met in the 2008 NCAA Championship. Penn State won that match, 3-0, and leads the all-time series, 7-0 (all by 3-0 scores).  

TICKETS: All session tickets for the first and second rounds must be purchased at the Bryce Jordan Center Ticket Office or by calling 1-800-NITTANY up until Friday, Nov. 30 at Noon. All session tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for youth and students and $8 for groups (20 or more). Single session tickets will only be available at Rec Hall on Friday and Saturday and are $8 for adults, $6 for youth and students and $5 for groups.