Box Score Box Score
ITHACA, N.Y. – The Big Red volleyball team won the third set and pushed Princeton to the limit in the fourth in an attempt to force a decisive fifth-set, but came up just short as the Tigers escaped Newman Arena with a 3-1 victory this evening in Ivy League play. The visitors took the match, 25-20, 25-14, 23-25, 25-23.
Cornell (2-14, 0-5) was led by
Janel Forte and
Madeleine Przybyl led the Big Red with 15 and 13 kills, respectively, while Megan Tatum finished with nine kills and a team-high .194 hitting percentage (9-3-31). Setter
Kelly Reinke and
Jordan Reeder both finished with a double-double with Reinke tallying 23 assists and 21 digs and Reeder finishing with 20 assists and 15 digs. Libero
Risa Ka'awa posted a team-high 27 digs to lead five Cornell players in double-digits, including Reinke, Reeder,
Sierra Young (16) and
Natasha Rowland (13).
Princeton (11-6, 4-1) got most of its offense from two players – Cathryn Quinn (18 kills, .235) and Lydia Rudnick (17 kills, .245) – with no other Tiger registering more than six kills. Setter Ginny Willis finished with 45 assists and Rudnick posted a match-high 29 digs.
After dropping the first two sets to Princeton, the Big Red stormed back in the third fighting off 10 ties and five lead changes to take the 25-23 victory. Cornell trailed 14-10 but a kill by Forte, Przybyl and Young helped the Big Red to a 6-2 run that knotted the match at 16-16. The match was tied again three times more (18-18, 19-19, 22-22) before back-to-back Tiger errors and a kill by Tatum sealed the victory.
The final set was equally intense with 12 ties and three lead changes, but Cornell came up just short, falling 25-23. The Big Red led by three (18-15) late in the set after kills by Przybyl and Forte and a Princeton error gave Cornell some breathing room. Unfortunately, a 6-1 run by the Tigers put the visitors up, 21-19. The Big Red fought back to tie the game at 22-22 and again at 23-23 but back-to-back kills by Rudnick ended the match.
The Big Red steps out of conference play for a midweek road trip to Hamilton, N.Y., to face instate rival Colgate on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.
