PRINCETON, N.J. - The second-seeded Yale Bulldogs defeated the top-seeded Princeton Tigers in straight sets in a closely contested 2024 Ivy League Women’s Volleyball Tournament Championship match.
Yale’s
Betsy Goodenow was named the Ivy League Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after totaling 33 kills, on a .561 hitting percentage, 10 digs, and 4.0 blocks in two tournament victories.
Goodenow led all players in the championship match with 14 kills on a highly-efficient .520 hitting percentage, while also chipping in one service ace, 1.0 blocks, and 3 digs.
Lauren Kellen and
Mila Yarich posted 10 and 9 kills, respectively, for the Bulldogs, combining with Goodenow for 33 of the team’s 43 kills.
Carly Diehl orchestrated the attack masterfully, totaling 33 assists, while adding 6 digs and half a block of her own. Defensively, Kellen had 1.5 of the team’s 8 blocks in the game, with only
Gigi Barr’s 2.0 blocks topping Kellen and
Laurece Abraham’s 1.5. Yarich led the team with 12 digs, closely followed by
Cara Shultz’s six.
Kamryn Chaney led Princeton with 13 kills, followed by 7 each for
Jackie Onyechi and
Sydney Draper. Draper led the team with 31 assists as she set up the offense and had 2 of Princeton’s 7 aces. Chaney had 2 aces and
Erin McNair had the other 3 aces to lead all players.
Sydney Bold led both teams with 13 digs, the only Tiger in double-figures, with
Ella Bunde’s 9 and Chaney’s 8 not too far behind.
In what would become a common theme of the match, Yale executed just well enough to close out a close first set, winning it 27-25. Princeton jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the set, but Yale came barking back to not just take the lead, but stretch their advantage to 5, leading 15-10, midway through the set. The Tigers clawed back, eventually tying the set at 20 and again at 22, 23, and 24, before finally scoring back-to-back points to take a 25-24 lead. Yale, though, would score three-straight points, the first two being a kill by Kellen and an ace by Shultz, before an attack error gave the first set to Yale, 27-25.
The beginning of the second set was, again, closely contested, with neither team leading by more than three points until Yale used a small 3-1 run to make it an 11-7 game. Yale stretched their lead to 16-11 and again led by 5, at 17-12, before the Tigers started chipping away at their deficit. The Tigers used a combination of kills, service aces, and attack errors to go on a 7-2 run and tie the second set at 19 apiece. The teams traded points back and forth, but, trailing 22-21, Yale used a pair of Yarich kills and an attacking error from Princeton to make it set point at 24-22. Princeton got one point back, but Goodenow shut the door to give the Bulldogs the 25-23 second set victory.
Princeton was not going to go away quietly. The Tigers either led or were tied with Yale in the third set until the Bulldogs strung together six-straight points to turn a 14-11 deficit into a 17-14 lead. Princeton fought back to tie the set at 18 and 19, but Yale took control down the stretch and closed out the championship with a 25-20 third set.
Yale has earned the Ivy League's automatic qualifier into the 2024 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament. The Bulldogs will find out their opponent, and the rest of the Ivy League will learn their postseason fate, during the selection show on Sunday, December 1 on ESPN.
2024 IVY LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Betsy Goodenow, Yale (MOP)
Carly Diehl, Yale
Lauren Kellen, Yale
Kamryn Chaney, Princeton
Sydney Draper, Princeton
Eliza Konvicka, Cornell
Julia Kakkis, Brown