Volleyball star selected as Yale's top female athlete

Kendall Polan, the first three-time player of the year selection in Ivy League volleyball history, is the recipient of the 2014 Nellie Pratt Elliot Award, the most prestigious athletic award given to a senior female at Yale. The award was presented at today’s Class Day exercises.

The Nellie Pratt Elliot Award goes to the senior woman whose excellence in the field of athletics and in her life at Yale best represents the ideals of sportsmanship and Yale tradition. It is awarded in memory of Nellie Pratt Elliot, who was an assistant director of undergraduate admissions at Yale for 46 years.

Polan, a political science major in Morse College, helped guide the Bulldogs to remarkable success. During her tenure, Yale posted a 74-26 overall record, including 51-5 in Ivy League matches. The Bulldogs won or shared the Ivy title in each of her four years and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Polan, a four-time first team All-Ivy selection, one of only seven in Ivy history, finished her career third all-time at Yale with 3,266 assists, fourth in assists per set (9.2), ninth with 1,200 digs and 10^th with 94 service aces. At the end of the 2013 season, Polan was ranked fifth among all Division I players in career combined assists, digs and kills.

This fall as a senior, Polan, the team captain, earned AVCA All-Region honors after leading the Ivy League in assists per set and leading the team in service aces. She earned honorable mention All-America recognition as a junior, and in her freshman year was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

Polan is a native of Cardiff, Calif., and played volleyball for La Costa Canyon High School, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation in 2008.