PRINCETON, N.J. -- Yale swept the Ivy League women’s volleyball postseason awards following a vote of the League’s head coaches. The Ivy League champions finished the regular season 19-4, including a 13-1 League mark.
Yale junior setter
Frances Arnautou was selected as the Player of the Year. Bulldog senior libero
Kate Swanson unanimously claimed Defensive Player of the Year honors, while teammate freshman outside hitter
Ellis DeJardin was dubbed the Rookie of the Year. Yale head coach
Erin Appleman was named the Ivy League Coach of the Year after leading the Bulldogs to their 10th all-time Ivy League crown and seventh since 2010.
Arnautou facilitated the Yale offense with 834 assists on the season, for an average of 10.69 assists per set. The junior also hit .318 with 61 kills and added 212 digs—second only to Bulldog libero Swanson—and a team-high 22 service aces. The San Francisco, Calif., product is Yale’s 10th Ivy League Player of the Year and first since
Mollie Rogers in 2014. She ends a run of three-straight Ivy League Player of the Year nods for Princeton (
Cara Mattaliano 2015, 2016 &
Maggie O’Connell, 2017).
Swanson paced the Ivy League with 4.95 digs per set, accumulating 386 digs on the season. The senior also tallied 78 assists and 20 service aces en route to her second-straight postseason honor. The Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., native is the third two-time Defensive Player of the Year since the award was instituted in 2012. Penn’s
Dani Shepherd (2012, 2013) and Columbia’s
Cassie Wes (2015, 2016) also earned the accolade in back-to-back seasons.
DeJardin paced Yale with 227 kills, a number that ranked sixth in the Ivy League. She hit .202 on the season and registered 203 digs—third on the team behind Swanson and Arnautou, 36 blocks, 20 assists and 14 service aces. The San Gabriel, Calif., native gives Yale back-to-back Rookie of the Year nods, joining outside hitter
Kathryn Attar (2017). She is the Bulldogs’ 13th Rookie of the Year all-time and the seventh under 16th-year head coach Appleman.
Appleman, in her 16th year at the helm of the Yale program, reaps her first Coach of the Year honor since the award was instituted in 2014. The Bulldogs, who have won at least a share of 7-of-9 titles since 2010, are just the second outright Ivy League champion over the past five seasons (Princeton, 2016). Appleman-led Yale will return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014—the last of four-straight appearances from 2011-14.
The top three teams in the Ivy League standings—Yale, Princeton and Cornell—dominated the All-Ivy teams. Yale had a League-high four First Team honorees and a League-best five All-Ivy selections overall. Princeton had four All-Ivy recipients (two First Team, two Second Team), while Cornell posted a League-high three Second Team selections.
Joining Arnautou, Swanson and DeJardin on the First Team for Yale was senior right-side hitter
Kelley Wirth (Moraga, Calif.). Freshman middle blocker
Samantha Bray (Austin, Texas) earned Second Team acknowledgement.
Princeton’s All-Ivy quartet were split among the First—junior right-side hitter
Maggie O’Connell (Katy, Texas) and junior outside hitter
Devon Peterkin (San Diego, Calif.)—and Second—sophomore middle blocker
Clare Lenihan (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and junior setter
Jessie Harris (Newport Beach, Calif.)—Teams.
Yale’s Arnautou and Swanson and Princeton’s O’Connell were the League's three unanimous First Team selections.
Cornell’s All-Ivy trio of freshman right-side hitter
Jillienne Bennett (Chicago, Ill.), junior outside hitter
Samanta Arenas (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and junior middle blocker
Jenna Phelps (Bucyrus, Kan.) all landed on the Second Team.
Harvard senior middle blocker
Christina Cornelius (Los Angeles, Calif.) rounded out the First Team All-Ivy contingent, while Columbia freshman outside hitter
Emily Teehan (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and Dartmouth senior libero
Zoe Leonard (Hilo, Hawaii) earned Second Team All-Ivy nods.
Brown and Penn each had a pair of All-Ivy Honorable Mention players. The Bears were represented by sophomore right-side hitter
Eliza Grover (Menlo Park, Calif.) and senior outside hitter
Sabrina Stillwell (Laguna Beach, Calif.). Sophomore outside hitters
Parker Jones (Lafayette, Calif.) and
Raven Sulaimon (Houston, Texas) were the Quakers recognized by the League. Princeton senior middle blocker
Caroline Sklaver (Miami Beach, Fla.) and Cornell junior libero
Lily Barber (Corte Madera, Calif.) were also dubbed All-Ivy Honorable Mentions.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Frances Arnautou, Yale (Jr., S – San Francisco, Calif.)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
* Kate Swanson, Yale (Sr., L – Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Ellis DeJardin, Yale (Fr., OH – San Gabriel, Calif.)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Erin Appleman, Yale
FIRST TEAM ALL-IVY
* Maggie O’Connell, Princeton (Jr., RS – Katy, Texas)
Devon Peterkin, Princeton (Jr., OH – San Diego, Calif.)
Kelley Wirth, Yale (Sr., RS – Moraga, Calif.)
Ellis DeJardin, Yale (Fr., OH – San Gabriel, Calif.)
Christina Cornelius, Harvard (Sr., MB – Los Angeles, Calif.)
* Frances Arnautou, Yale (Jr., S – San Francisco, Calif.)
* Kate Swanson, Yale (Sr., L – Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.)
SECOND TEAM ALL-IVY^
Emily Teehan, Columbia (Fr., OH – Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Jillienne Bennett, Cornell (Fr., RS – Chicago, Ill.)
Samanta Arenas, Cornell (Jr., OH – Pembroke Pines, Fla.)
Jenna Phelps, Cornell (Jr., MB – Bucyrus, Kan.)
Clare Lenihan, Princeton (So., MB – Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Samantha Bray, Yale (Fr., MB – Austin, Texas)
Jessie Harris, Princeton (Jr., S – Newport Beach, Calif.)
Zoe Leonard, Dartmouth (Sr., L – Hilo, Hawaii)
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-IVY
Eliza Grover, Brown (So., RS – Menlo Park, Calif.)
Sabrina Stillwell, Brown (Sr., OH – Laguna Beach, Calif.)
Parker Jones, Penn (So., OH – Lafayette, Calif.)
Raven Sulaimon, Penn (So., OH – Houston, Texas)
Caroline Sklaver, Princeton (Sr., MB – Miami Beach, Fla.)
Lily Barber, Cornell (Jr., L – Corte Madera, Calif.)
* Unanimous Selection
^ Second Team Expanded Due To Tie In Voting