Boxscore

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Cornell volleyball team fell to Penn, the top team in the Ivy League, this evening, 3-0, at the Palestra in Philadelphia, Pa. The Big Red fell in straight sets, 25-16, 25-16 and 25-19.

Cornell (6-12, 3-4 Ivy) was led by Alessa Cekauskas with six kills on 31 attempts, while Deveny Pula and Jessica Misse added five kills apiece. Jordan Reeder ran the offense with 19 assists. Defensively, Megan Mushovic had 15 digs, while Pula chipped in 11 and Kelly Hansen led the team with six block assists.

Penn (15-4, 6-0 Ivy) was led by Elizabeth Semmens' 11 kills, while Julia Swanson tallied nine. Megan Tryon registered 37 assists, while Madison Wojciechowski had a game-high 19 digs.

In the first set, the Big Red tied the game at 4-4 off a kill by Misse, and again at 5-5, thanks to a Quaker service error, but a 7-1 scoring run put the home team up, 14-7. From there, Penn rolled to the 25-16 victory.

The second set opened as a back-and-forth battle as the teams traded points to 8-8. A kill by Semmens opened a 5-1 scoring run, putting Penn up, 14-9. A kill by Misse ended the run, but after pushing its lead to 15-12, the Quakers used five unanswered points to take the commanding 20-12 lead. Penn outscored the Big Red, 5-4, down the stretch on the way to the 25-16 win.

The final set started as another see-saw battle with the teams tying seven times on the way to a 9-9 game, but nine straight points gave Penn the overwhelming 18-9 lead. A pair of kills by Alice Cope and Pula, followed by a block from Hansen and Cope gave the Big Red a bit of life, making it an 18-12 contest, but Cornell could not get any closer than six points the rest of the way and Penn took the 25-19 victory.

The Big Red is back in action tomorrow as it takes on Princeton on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 4 p.m.