Box Score

HAMILTON, N.Y. – The Big Red volleyball team started the Colgate Invitational with a bang, defeating UConn in the opening match, 3-2. The Huskies took the first set (26-24), before Cornell won the next two (25-21, 25-19). With the 2-1 lead, the Big Red fell in the fourth set (19-25) before winning a thrilling fifth set (17-15) to improve to 2-5 on the season. Cornell is back in action tomorrow morning, Saturday, Sept. 18, as the Big Red takes on Akron at 10 a.m., before facing the host Raiders in the tournament finale at 7 p.m.

A trio of Big Red players finished with more than 10 kills, led by Janel Forte's 12, while Kelly Hansen and Madeleine Przybyl posted 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Jordan Reeder handed out 36 assists and Risa Ka'awa had a team-high 12 digs.

UConn (2-6) was led by Cayla Broadwater, Rebecca Murray and Jordan Kirk who each posted 14 kills on the day. Setter Angela Roidt tallied all but two of the Huskies assists (52), while Kelsey Maving had a match-high 15 digs.

After letting the first set slip away, the Big Red jumped out to a commanding 10-3 lead early in the second set behind the strength of a .344 team hitting percentage (13-2-31). Cornell stretched its lead to 19-10 thanks to a 5-1 scoring run. During the run, the Big Red got kills from Przybyl, Hansen and Sierra Young, as well as a pair of service aces from Reeder and Forte. UConn responded with four unanswered points, but Cornell was able to hold off the Huskies' run and claim the 25-21 victory.

It was UConn that got out to a lead early in the third set, doubling up the Big Red, 8-4, but Cornell used a prolonged 8-4 scoring run to knot the game at 12-12. The score would be tied once more at 15-15, but a service ace by Reeder, followed by kills from Hansen and Przybyl gave the Big Red a lead it would not relinquish in taking the win, 25-19.

The fourth set started out as a back-and-fourth battle, but a 9-2 UConn run gave the Huskies control en route to the 25-19 victory.

UConn used that momentum to get out to a 3-0 lead early in the decisive fifth set, but back-to-back kills by Forte, coupled with a Huskie attack error knotted the game at 3-3. The teams traded points nine times down the stretch before three straight Big Red kills from Alice Cope, Przybyl and Hansen gave Cornell the 17-15 victory and ended the match.