Box Score Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. – After getting off to a great start and earning the victory in the first set of the night the Big Red volleyball team dropped three straight, falling to Colgate, 3-1, this evening at Cotterell Court. Three of the four matches were taken right to the limit and were decided by two points: 23-25, 27-25, 25-14, 25-23.

Cornell (2-15) was led by Janel Forte and Meagan Tatum with 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Senior setter Jordan Reeder recorded 23 assists and freshman setter Kelly Reinke tallied 15. Defensively, the Big Red finished the night with 14 total blocks, led by Alice Cope with seven block assists and one block solo, and Madeleine Przybyl with five block assists and one block solo. Behind them libero Risa Ka'awa posted a match-high 19 digs and Natasha Rowland finished with 14 digs.

Colgate (8-11) had a trio of hitters – Lindsay Young (17), Kaylee Dougherty (15), Kenzie Hume (10) – finish with double-digit kills and setter Kaylee Fifer posted a 52-assist, 15-dig double-double.

The Raiders jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the first set and eventually extended that margin to seven points (17-10) before Cornell started an inspired comeback behind back-to-back kills from Cope and Tatum.  A pair of Colgate errors made it a 17-14 game and the Big Red used a 6-3 run to knot the set at 20-20. Tatum and was essential during the run with two kills, while Przybyl posted two block assists. The Raiders pulled back ahead, 23-21, but a kill from Sarah Hunt and a Colgate hitting error tied the set at 23-23. Cornell closed the set with back-to-back blocks, including a solo block from Cope.

The Big Red carried that momentum into the second set and got out to an early 10-4 lead but Colgate got three kills from Dougherty, a kill from Lindsay Young and a service ace from Fife, as well as a Cornell error, to knot the game at 10-10. The teams battled back and forth before four straight Raider kills put the home team up, 17-13.  Colgate held the four-point advantage to 20-16 but the Big Red slowly began a comeback and knotted the game at 22-22 off a block from Cope and Tatum. The set was tied twice more before a block from Dougherty/Young, and a kill from Young, handed Colgate the 27-25 victory.

The third set was a back and forth affair before a 10-3 run put the Raiders up, 16-9. From there, Colgate cruised to the 25-14 victory.

Cornell rebounded in the fourth set and took a 15-11 lead on a kill by Tatum, but the home team used a 7-3 run to knot the set at 18-18. Another kill by Tatum returned the one-point advantage to the Big Red but a Cornell attack error and a kill by Safir put Colgate up, 20-19. A kill by Przybyl tied the set again and a kill by Forte restored the 21-20 lead to the Big Red, but a block by Safir, a Cornell attack error and a service ace by Dougherty gave the Raiders the 23-21 lead. The Big Red pulled back within one, 24-23, on a block from Cope and Reeder, but a kill from Michelle McCarthy ended the match with a 25-23 victory in the fourth set. 

The Big Red returns to conference play this weekend with a road trip to Harvard and Dartmouth. Cornell will face the Crimson on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m., before taking on the Big Green on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 5 p.m.