Box Score ITHACA, N.Y. – The Big Red volleyball team snapped a four-game losing streak against instate rival Binghamton as it closed out its non-conference schedule with a thrilling 3-2 victory this evening over the Bearcats in Newman Arena. The teams traded sets with Cornell winning the second and fourth, and then went to extra points in the fifth set to earn the victory; 16-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-22, 18-16.
 
In total, the match featured 38 ties and 10 lead changes, five of which came in the decisive fifth set.
 
Cornell (5-11) was led by Kelly Marble with 18 kills, one of four Big Red players to reach double-digits. She was joined by Breanna Wong (14), Janel Forte (12) and Sarah Okey (12.) Forte also posted a team-best .348 hitting percentage (12-4-23), with Okey right behind at .323 (12-2-31).
 
Setter Lucy Zheng finished with a career-high 51 assists and libero Sierra Young also had a personal-best 31 digs.
 
Binghamton (6-15) was led by Kristin Hovie's 16 kills, while Grace Vickers and Iva Partaleva added 12 kills apiece. Alex Roland posted a .412 hitting percentage for the match with eight kills and just one error on 17 attempts. Setter Amanda Dettmann had a 43-assist, 14-dig double-double and libero Xiomara Ortiz finished with a game-high 32 digs.
 
As a team, the Big Red recovered from a slow start, in which it hit just .061 in the first set, to finish the match with a .206 hitting percentage (62-25-180).
 
After falling in the first set, 25-16, Cornell used a 7-0 run to erase a four-point deficit in the second set and go up, 16-13. The run began with a kill from Forte and was sustained by some solid serving from Zheng, who notched two service aces during the run. The Bearcats would pull back to within one point twice more (16-15, 18-17), but a kill by Wong, followed by a service ace from Young, returned the momentum to the home team and Cornell closed the set on a 5-1 run to account for the 25-18 final.
 
The third set was a back-and-forth battle with the teams trading points to 8-8. Back-to-back kills by Hovie and Dettmann, followed by consecutive aces from Megan Burgess put the visitors up, 12-8, but Cornell fought back with four unanswered points of its own to tie the game again at 12-12. The teams continued to trade points to 18-18 when four consecutive kills by the Bearcats propelled the visitors to the 25-20.
 
Cornell put in a gutty effort in the fourth set leading all the way until four unanswered kills, including two by Partavela, knotted the set at 16-16. The teams traded points to 19-19 when a consecutive kills by Marble, Forte and Wong, followed by another ace from Zheng, put the home team up, 23-19. The Bearcats responded with a kill by Vickers and back-to-back kills by Hovie, but the Big Red closed the set with back-to-back kills by Forte and Okey.
 
The fifth set proved to be the most exciting of the night with 14 ties and five lead changes. Cornell fought off three Binghamton match points, coming back each time to tie the set at 14-14, 15-15 and 16-16.  A block by Forte and Wong gave the Big Red its first lead in the match since an early 6-5 advantage, and Marble ended the contest with a kill to give Cornell the 18-16 victory.
 
The Big Red remains at home for a pair of games this weekend, taking on Harvard on Friday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. before facing Dartmouth on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 5 p.m.