Box Score

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Big Red volleyball team won the opening set, but couldn't hold on as Harvard rebounded for the 3-1 victory this evening at the Malkin Athletic Center in Cambridge, Mass. With the win, the Crimson improves to 5-11 overall and 2-2 in the Ivy League, while Cornell slips to 3-10 and 1-3 in conference play.

Cornell won the first set, 25-17, before being narrowly defeated 25-23, 26-24 and 25-20.

Madeline Przybyl led the Big Red with 12 kills to go along with a .333 hitting percentage, five block assists and four digs. Kelly Hansen also had a solid night with nine kills and four block assists. Setter Jordan Reeder finished with 34 assists and matched Taylor Nieman with a team-high 12 digs. Risa Ka'awa also chipped in 11 digs for the Big Red.

Taylor Docter led all hitters with 13 kills and hitting .314 for the match. She also added two blocks and six digs. Beth Kinsella dished out 43 helpers and Anne Ingersoll contributed 12 kills and three blocks. Libero Christine Wu and Miyoko Petite each tallied 10 digs.

In the first set, Harvard got out to a slim 9-7 lead but a 5-1 run by the visitors gave Cornell the 13-10 edge. During the run, the Big Red enjoyed kills from Janel Forte and Alice Cope to go along with three Crimson errors. The Big Red managed to stretch its lead to five points, thanks to an attack error by Doctor, and keep at least a four-point margin the rest of the way before a kill by Deveney Pula and a pair of kills by Cope, sandwiched around a Cornell service error gave the Big Red the 25-17 win.

A strong serving performance by Pula to start the second set helped the Big Red get off to a 3-0 lead, but the Crimson used a 7-1 run through the middle of the set to go up, 16-12. The Big Red slowly fought its way back into the set by outscoring Harvard, 9-5, to take a late 22-21 lead, but a kill by Mikaelle Cromrie knotted the game at 22-22. After a Cornell error, Pula connected on a kill to tie the game again at 23-23, but the Big Red couldn't hold off the Crimson. A kill by Ingersoll and a Cornell attack error handed the home team the win, 25-23.

Harvard carried the momentum into the third set as it jumped out to an 8-3 lead. Once again, the Big Red managed to close the gap and eventually pulled within one-point, 15-14, off a kill by Przybyl. A Crimson timeout settled the home team and the Crimson extended its cushion back to three points, 18-15, with a kill by Doctor. From there, the Big Red used a 6-3 scoring run to tie the game at 21-21. The teams traded points up to 24-24 but a Beth Kinsella kill gave Harvard a 25-24 lead and the Crimson closed out the third set on a marathon point that ended with a kill by Cromrie.

The fourth set was all Harvard as the Crimson jumped out to a 12-4 lead and cruised to the 25-18 victory.

The Big Red remains on the road next weekend for a pair of games at Yale and Brown. Cornell will take on the Bulldogs on Friday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m., before facing the Bears on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m.