Box Score Box Score

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Big Red volleyball team snapped a 10-match skid and earned its first Ivy League win of the season this evening as it defeated Harvard, 3-1, at the Malkin Athletic Center in Cambridge, Mass. Cornell got off to a slow start, falling 25-12 in the first set, but rallied back with three straight victories, 25-18, 25-17, 25-18, to end a four-match losing streak to the Crimson.

Cornell (3-15, 1-5) had three players register double-digit kills, led by Kelly Marble with 14, while Madeleine Przybyl and Rachel D'Epagnier finished with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Freshman setter Kelly Reinke posted a 16-assist, 13-dig double-double and senior setter Jordan Reeder tallied 23 assists. The Big Red was outstanding defensively with 90 team digs, thanks to six players with more than 10 digs on the evening. Libero Risa Ka'awa led the way with 21 digs, while Natasha Rowland and Przybyl finishing with 13 apiece. Marble and Janel Forte also had 10 assists.

Harvard (9-7, 2-4) was led by Taylor Doctor's 14 kills, while Natalie Doyle registered 33 assists. Libero Christine Wu  had a match-high 23 digs and Christine Casey finished with 17.

The Big Red struggled in the first set, hitting -.119, but saw that number rise in each of the subsequent sets, hitting .275 in the second, .292 in the third and .308 in the fourth to finish at .189 (57-25-169) for the match. The Crimson's numbers went in the exact opposite direction, hitting .211 in the first, .184 in the second, .140 in the third and just .065 in the fourth for a mark of .145 (41-17-165) in the match.

Harvard used its hot hitting and took advantage of the Big Red's struggles in the first set to jump out to a 7-1 lead and never looked back en route to the 25-12 win.

Cornell stormed back in the second set, using kills from five different Big Red players and service aces from Marble and Rowland to get out to a 10-5 lead. The Crimson pulled back within three points (11-8), but a pair of kills from D'Epagnier and a kill from Forte pushed the Cornell lead back to 15-11. A service ace from Doctor brought the home team back within striking distance at 19-17, but the Big Red closed the match on a 6-1 run.

The third set was a back and forth battle in the opening moments before a 5-2 run put Cornell up, 12-7. A block by Doctor and Sandra Fryhofer brought the Crimson within three points (16-13) but a timeout allowed the Big Red to regroup and back-to-back kills from Marble, followed by consecutive Harvard errors put the visitors up, 20-13. From there, the teams traded points until a kill and a service ace from Reeder handed the Big Red the 25-17 victory.

The teams continued to trade points early in the fourth set before a kill by D'Epagnier and a pair of Crimson errors gave Cornell some breathing room at 10-7. A service ace from Doctor brought Harvard back within one-point (11-10) but three unanswered points, which included two kills from Marble, put Cornell back up, 14-10. The Big Red maintained at least a three-point lead the rest of the way as it rolled to the 25-18 victory.

The Big Red is back in action tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 15, as it takes on Dartmouth at 5 p.m.