Dec. 3, 2007

NEW HAVEN, Conn.--Following a team vote, setter Ally Mendenhall has been elected captain of the 2008 Yale volleyball team. The Lincoln, Neb., native has played in every game for the Bulldogs over the last two seasons and is a two-time Second Team All-Ivy selection.

"I really respect the girls on this team and cherish my relationship with each of them," Mendenhall said. "That is what makes being selected captain by them a tremendous honor."

Mendenhall, the only Yale player to appear in all 91 games this season, earned her second straight Second Team All-Ivy nod after finishing second in the conference with 11.95 assists per game. She tallied 1,087 assists in 2007, the fifth-highest single-season total in school history. Mendenhall has 2,215 career assists, which ranks seventh on the all-time list. She had 13 double-doubles and was named Ivy League Player of the Week on Oct. 30 after finishing one kill shy of her first career triple-double in a five-game win over Dartmouth.

She also averaged 0.74 kills, 2.96 digs, 0.37 blocks and 0.34 service aces per game this season. For her career, Mendenhall is averaging 9.98 assists, 0.60 kills, 2.71 digs, 0.34 aces and 0.13 blocks per game.

"I think the senior leadership on this team will be instrumental in our success, and I'm confident that our personalities will complement each other's," Mendenhall said. "We're all really excited to begin working hard and setting long-term goals during this offseason."

"I am thrilled Ally was voted captain by her peers," Head Coach Erin Appleman said. "This rising senior class possesses great volleyball talent, but more importantly, they are all excellent leaders. Any one of these four girls would have been a good choice for captain. I am very confident Ally will do her best to fulfill her new responsibilities."

Mendenhall is the second Nebraskan to be elected team captain in the last three seasons. Elkhorn, Neb., native Anja Perlebach was the captain of the 2006 team.

Next year, Yale returns six starters and 12 letterwinners from this season's 16-10 team. The Bulldogs open the 2008 season by hosting the annual Yale Volleyball Classic, then head to tournaments at Penn State and Albany before beginning the Ivy League schedule.

Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity