Boxscore

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Cornell volleyball team fell to Princeton, 3-1, this afternoon in Princeton, N.J. After losing the first set, 25-14, the Big Red stormed back to win the second set, 29-27, but dropped the final two sets, 25-11 and 25-21.

Freshman Deveney Pula led Cornell with 15 kills and just six errors on 46 attempts (.196), to go along with 12 digs and one service ace. Meagan Tatum also registered double-digit kills with 10 and just two errors on 34 attempts (.235), while Kelly Hansen chipped in seven kills. Jordan Reeder tallied 29 assists and Megan Mushovic posted 17 digs.

Princeton (6-12, 4-3) was led by Sheena Donohue's 21 kills, while Lydia Rudnick (17), Cathryn Quinn (16) and Taylor Carroll (14) all posted double-digit kills as well. Michaela Venuti tallied 59 assists and Rudnick posted a game-high 18 digs. 

Princeton jumped out to an early 13-3 lead in the first set from which the Big Red could not recover as the home team took the 25-14 win. Juliana Rogers led Cornell in the set with three kills and just one error on five attempts for a .400 hitting percentage.

The Big Red regrouped in the second set, fighting through seven ties before a 5-1 scoring run put the Tigers up, 14-10. A pair of kills by Pula ended the run and Cornell got back into the set, tying it all up at 18-18. The teams tied again eight more times down the stretch before a kill by Pula and a Princeton attack error gave the Big Red the 29-27 victory. Pula led Cornell in the set with six kills, as Cornell hit .244 as a team.

The Tigers scored eight unanswered points to open the third set before a kill by Tatum, followed by a Princeton error put the Big Red on the board, 8-2. Cornell eventually made it a 13-5 game off a kill by Lucy Zheng, but the Tigers used another 7-0 scoring run to push its lead to 20-5. From there, Princeton rolled to the 25-11 victory.

In the final set, the teams had another back-and-forth battle before a pair of Cornell attack errors and a kill by Quinn put Princeton up, 20-15. The Big Red got back into the game at 23-20, but couldn't come all the way back as the Tigers took the 25-21 victory. Pula led Cornell with five kills on 13 attempts in the set.
Cornell (6-13, 3-5) is back in action next weekend, as it travels to Dartmouth on Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m., and Harvard on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 4 p.m.