Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. – For the second straight night, the Big Red volleyball team took a match into the fifth set, but could not pull out the win, falling this evening to Dartmouth, 3-2, at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y. Each set was closely contested with Cornell winning the first and third (25-23, 25-18) but falling in the second, fourth and fifth (25-23, 26-24, 18-16).

Cornell (4-16, 2-8 Ivy) saw a trio of hitters in double-figures, led by Kelly Hansen's 21 kills on 48 attempts with just three errors (.375). Madeleine Przybyl registered 19 kills to go along with nine digs and seven block assists, while Erin McCarthy had a 10-kill, 22-dig double-double. For Hansen and Pryzbyl the kill totals were career-highs, while McCarthy's dig total was a career-high. Alice Cope also had a solid day with eight kills and just one error on 17 attempts for a team high .412 hitting percentage to go along with five total blocks.

Jordan Reeder finished with 59 assists, 16 digs and six total blocks, while Taylor Nieman recorded a career-high 28 digs. Risa Ka'awa (15), Sierra Young (10) and Janel Forte (10) also finished with double-digit digs.

Dartmouth (13-8, 4-6 Ivy) was led by Madeline Baird's 21-kill, 20-dig performance, while Kelsey Johnson (13 kills, 22 digs) and Lexie Campbell (16 kills, 14 digs) also tallied double-doubles. Alissa Santa Maria ran the offense, registering 57 assists and libero Amber Bryant finished with a team-high 25 digs.

The Big Green jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the first set, thanks to the strong serving of Baird, but Cornell battled back behind kills from McCarthy and Przybyl to pull within one-point, 7-6. The home team eventually knotted the set at 10-10 on a service ace from McCarthy and the two squads traded points to 13-13. Dartmouth managed to win back-to-back points and maintained a two-point lead to 18-16 when a kill by Cope and a Big Green attack error tied the score again at 18-18. Once again the visitors managed to build a slight lead, going up 22-19, but five unanswered points, including one kill each from McCarthy, Pryzbyl and Forte, gave the Big Red the 24-22 advantage. A kill by Baird staved off elimination but an attack error on Dartmouth's next play handed Cornell the 25-23 win.

The second set was the most tightly contested one of the match with 14 ties and six lead changes. The teams essentially traded points all the way to 19-19 when a kill by Hansen and an attack error by Baird put the Big Red up by two, 21-19. Cornell used another kill by Hansen and a Nieman service ace to stretch its advantage to three points, 23-20, but Dartmouth closed the set on a 5-0 run.

Cornell dominated the third, using a prolonged 8-4 scoring run to build a 15-9 lead midway through the set. From there, the visitors never got closer than five points as the Big Red rolled to the 25-18 victory. During the set, Cornell was dominant at the net, hitting .237 while holding Dartmouth to just .070 percent.

The fourth set proved to be another back-and-forth affair with the teams trading points to 7-7 before a pair of kills by Annie Villanueava gave the visitors a two-point lead. Dartmouth maintained that lead until a service error from Bryant and a block from Hansen and Cope knotted the game at 18-18. Cornell used some big blocks and kills by Hansen and Pryzbyl to take a 22-20 lead, but the Big Green got back-to-back kills from Campbell to tie the score again at 22-22. The set would be tied three more times to 24-24 before a Cornell error and a Campbell service ace gave Dartmouth the 26-24 victory and forced a fifth set.

Cornell got off to a great start in the decisive set, building a 4-2 lead, but the Big Green fought back to tie the game at 5-5. A pair of kills by Pryzbyl and Reeder put the Big Red back in the lead and the home team maintained a two-point advantage to 9-7, but a kill by Campbell sparked a 6-2 scoring run and the visitors took a 13-11 lead. A kill by Forte and a Dartmouth error tied the set once more at 13-13 and the teams traded points to 16-16 when a kill by Baird and a hitting error by Cornell ended the match.

The Big Red travels to Princeton and Penn next weekend as it faces the Tigers on Friday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m., and the Quakers on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 5 p.m.