Boxscore

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell volleyball team nearly handed Penn its first Ivy League loss of the season this afternoon at Newman Arena, but came up just short, falling to the Quakers, 3-2. The Big Red won the first two sets, 25-22 and 25-21, before dropping the next three, 25-23, 25-21 and 15-12.

Cornell (6-10, 3-9 Ivy) was led by Deveney Pula with 19 kills, while Kelly Hansen (13), Alessa Cekauskas (12) and Juliana Rogers (11) all posted double-digit kills. Jordan Reeder had a career-high 55 assists, to go along with 21 digs. Senior libero Megan Mushovic reached yet another milestone in her illustrious career, as her team-high 22 digs pushed her past the 2,000 dig plateau. Risa Ka'awa also chipped in 18 digs.

Penn (20-4, 11-0) also had four players with double-digit kills, led by Julia Swanson with 19, while Elizabeth Semmens chipped in 17. Swanson and Semmens also registered 18 and 25 digs, respectively. Megan Tryon tallied a game-high 62 assists.

The Big Red jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the first set, thanks to three kills by Pula, a kill by Hansen and a service ace by Cekauskas, before a kill by Penn's Lauren Martin ended the run and sparked a comeback for the visitors. The Quakers knotted the game at 8-8, but back-to-back kills by Jessica Misse and Cekauskas, followed by a Penn error put Cornell back on top, 11-8. The Quakers pulled back within one, 12-11, but the Big Red used a 7-2 scoring run to take a commanding 19-13 lead. Penn responded once again and made it a 19-18 game, but a pair of kills by Pula put Cornell back in control and Rogers ended the match with a kill.

Cornell carried the momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead, before eventually going up, 16-5. The teams traded points until 21-9, when the Quakers began to claw back into the set, using a 12-3 run to pull within three points, 24-21. The visitors run was ended, however, when a kill by Hansen ended the set.

The Big Red managed to hold the lead throughout the majority of the third set, going up 21-16 on a kill by Rogers, but a kill by Penn's Lauren Martin sparked a 9-2 scoring run down the stretch that gave the Quakers the come-from-behind victory.

The fourth set was the most evenly matched one of the night, with the teams essentially trading points to 16-16 before a kill by Ashley Hawkins, followed by two Cornell errors put the visitors up, 19-16. The Big Red pulled back within one-point, 20-19, thanks to kills by Rogers and Hansen, but Penn held off the home team en route to the 25-21 victory.

The Quakers jumped out to a commanding 8-3 lead in the final set before a kill by Cekauskas gave Cornell some momentum. The teams traded points before a block by Hansen and Rogers, followed by a kill by both Hansen and Rogers helped pull Cornell within two points, 10-8. A kill by Swanson was answered by a kill from Pula and a service ace by Mushovic made it an 11-10 deficit. Another kill by Swanson was answered by yet another kill from Pula, but back-to-back kills by Martin gave Penn match-point, 14-11. Pula registered another kill to make it a 14-12 game, but a kill by Semmens ended the match.

Cornell wraps up the season next weekend, as it travels to Brown on Friday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m., and Yale on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 4 p.m.