Box Score ITHACA, N.Y. – The Big Red volleyball team put together one of its best performances of the season as it defeated Princeton, 3-1, this evening at Newman Arena. Cornell, which won 25-16, 22-25, 25-23, 26-24, has posted back-to-back victories over Princeton for the first time since winning three consecutive matches from 2004 to 2005.

Cornell (5-6, 2-0 Ivy) had one of its best team hitting performances of the season (.241), thanks in large part to freshman middle blocker Macey Wilson, who connected on a team-best .481 with 16 kills and just three errors on 27 attempts. Her middle blocker counterpart Rachel D'Epagnier was also impressive, hitting .261 with 10 kills and four errors on 23 attempts. Altogether, the Big Red had four players register double-digit kills, with Breanna Wong and Sarah Kramer finishing with 14 and 11 kills, respectively.

The offense was run through freshman Alyssa Phelps, who handed out 50 assists, registered 11 digs and posted five kills on 12 attempts with no errors for a .417 hitting percentage. She also tallied a team-high five block assists, along with Wilson.

Cornell finished with nine total blocks in front of libero Natasha Rowland, who was outstanding with 29 digs.

Princeton (5-7, 1-1 Ivy) hit just .142 as a team and had just two players, Kendelll Peterkin (12) and Cara Mattaliano (10), reach double-digit kills. Peterkin also had a team-high 13 digs. Setter Lauren Miller finished with 35 assists and libero Sarah Daschbach tallied 10 digs.

The Tigers strength was in their blocking, posting 17 total blocks as a team, with Nicole Kincade finishing with 10 (one solo, nine assists), while Tiana Woolridge posted seven (one solo, six assists). Over half of Princeton's blocks (9.0) came during the second set, when the visitors held Cornell to .000 hitting percentage and eked out a 25-22 win.

The Big Red completely dominated the first set, hitting .364, while holding Princeton to a .000 hitting percentage. Cornell used a 5-1 run to break open the set and take a 14-8 lead. The home team never looked back and rolled to the 25-16 victory.

The second set was a back-and-forth battle with seven ties and three lead changes. The Tigers eventually pulled away and took a 20-16 lead on a block from Kincade and Lauren Miller, but a Cornell timeout settled the home team down and the Big Red fought its way back into the contest. The offense came alive with a pair of kills from Wilson and one kill each from Phelps and Hunt, but it was big back-to-back blocks from D'Epagnier that brought Cornell within one-point (23-22). That was as close as it would get, however, as Princeton took the 25-23 victory.

Princeton carried the momentum into the third set, working its way to a 12-8 lead. The Big Red responded and managed to knot the game at 13-13 with a kill from Wilson. The teams traded the lead until a 5-2 run for the home team broke a 15-15 tie and gave Cornell a lead it would not relinquish.

Some hot hitting gave the Big Red an early 7-4 lead in the fourth set, with a pair of kills from D'Epagnier to go along with kills by Wong, Wilson and Kramer. The Tigers responded with a 7-4 run of its own to tie the set at 11-11. The score would be tied twice more (16-16, 18-18) before a pair of blocks and a service ace from Mattaliano put the visitors up, 21-18.

A kill from Kramer ended the Tiger run and the Big Red managed to knot the set again at 23-23. A Cornell service error gave Princeton the 24-23 lead, but a kill from Wong tied the set one final time at 24-24. A big block from Wilson and Kramer gave the Big Red match point and Kramer handed Cornell the 26-24 victory with a kill on the next play.