Box Score Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. – After using some of its best hitting of the season to storm out to a 2-0 lead, the Big Red volleyball team cooled off and Dartmouth fought back to take the 3-2 victory this evening at Newman Arena. Cornell is back in action tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 5 as it welcomes Harvard to Newman Arena and celebrates Senior Day at 5 p.m.

Cornell hit .208 (18-7-53) and .367 (14-3-30) to win the first two sets, 26-24 and 25-11 before dropping the next three to the visitors: 25-14, 25-16, 15-13. 

Madeleine Przybyl and Kelly Marble both posted a team-high 13 kills with Przybyl hitting a match-best .367 (13-2-3), while Marble finished at a healthy .217 (13-3-46). Janel Forte chipped in 11 kills, while Meagan Tatum added seven kills and four block assists for the Big Red. Sophomore middle blocker Rachel D'Epagnier also had a good night at the net with six block assists. 

Setters Jordan Reeder and Kelly Reinke handed out 27 and 16 assists, respectively, with Reeder adding 14 digs as one of four Cornell players with double-digit digs. Libero Risa Ka'awa had a team-high 25 digs, while Przybyl finished with 16 and Natasha Rowland chipped in 12.

Dartmouth (14-8, 6-5) was led by Alex Schoenberger's 20 kills and Madeline Baird's 15-kill, 12-dig double-double. Kendall Houston handed out 38 assists, while Alissa Santa Maria added 11. Big Green libero Amber Bryant finished with a match-high 28 digs.

Cornell (4-19, 2-9) scrapped its way to a 26-24 victory in the first set, holding the Big Green to a .128 hitting percentage (11-5-47). The set featured seven ties and two lead changes but the Big Red used a pair of kills by both Tatum and Marble to pull ahead, 20-15. Dartmouth managed to tie the game at 24-24, but a triple block from Forte, D'Epagnier and Brittany Fox, followed by a kill from Forte handed Cornell the victory.

The teams traded points to 4-4 in the second set before the Big Red went on a 6-0 run to blow open the set. Cornell took advantage of the Big Green's .053 hitting performance (7-9-38) to roll to the 25-11 victory.

Dartmouth won the next two sets to force a decisive fifth set.

After trading points to 5-5, Cornell used a kill by Fox and a pair of Big Green errors to take an 8-5 lead.  A kill by Baird was answered by a kill from D'Epagnier, but a pair of Dartmouth kills and a service ace knotted the game at 9-9. A kill from Marble and another hitting error from the visitors restored the 11-9 lead to Cornell before the Big Red eventually pushed its lead to 13-10. Unfortunately, Dartmouth rallied to close the set on a 5-0 run and steal the win.