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The Yale women’s volleyball team (16–1, 8–0 Ivy) won yet again on Friday night. In front of a crowd of 330 fans, they beat Brown University (9–8, 5–3 Ivy) in four sets, tacking another victory onto their win streak. 

The Bulldogs put on a team effort with multiple leaders in kills — Audrey Leak ’24, Gigi Barr ’25 and Mila Yarich ’25 each contributing a game-high 12 kills. This victory extends the Bulldogs’ win streak to 14 and maintains their position as No. 1 in the Ivy League. 

“We came in super focused and ready to compete against Brown,” Yarich said. 

The Bulldogs surged ahead in the first two sets of the match as they beat the Bears 25–16 in the first and then 25–12 in the second. Yale had 36 kills to Brown’s 16 in the first two sets. 

In the third set, however, Brown figured out how to stop the onslaught of Bulldog spikes. The Bears blocked the Blue and White six times and won the set 25–22. The Blue and White bounced back with a 25–21 victory in the fourth set to win the match. 

Throughout the match, Maile Somera ’24 led the Bulldogs with 25 digs, Fatima Samb ’25 had six blocks and Carly Diehl ’25 had 48 assists. 

With the win, the Bulldogs extended their winning streak to 14. This is the longest winning streak a Yale volleyball team has had since 2012, when the Bulldogs won 15 in a row before earning the Ivy League Championship.

Members of the current team, however, are not focusing on statistics in the record books. 

“I don’t think it’s really about the winning streak. I think our team is far more focused on just beating the team in front of us in the moment.”  said outside hitter Cara Shultz ’25. “It’s very cool to have such a long streak, but I don’t think anyone on the team really has that as a priority.”

Coach Erin Appleman echoed Shultz’s sentiment, emphasizing the importance of staying present. 

“We don’t talk about [the win streak]. That’s in the past,” Appleman said. “We are always thinking about the next game, the next opponent.”

The Bulldog’s next challenge is their Friday night matchup against Cornell University (4–13, 2–6 Ivy) ranked seventh in the Ivy League. Last week, the Big Red swept Columbia University (4–13, 1–7 Ivy). Junior Sydney Moore led the match in both kills and blocks and earned the ninth-best hitting record in Cornell’s history.

The game against Cornell will be at home at the John J. Lee Amphitheater in the Payne Whitney Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m.