Box Score BROOKLYN – The Big Red volleyball team rebounded from last night's heartbreaking loss to LIU Brooklyn by sweeping Fairfield, 3-0, on the second day of the Blackbird Invitational, winning 25-17, 25-19, 25-21. Cornell will have precious little time to enjoy the victory before getting back on the court to take on Colgate at 4 p.m.

Cornell (2-3) had its best hitting game of the young season with five players hitting above .300 for the match. Middle blocker Rachel D'Epagnier was flawless, posting nine kills on 15 attempts with no errors for a .600 hitting percentage. Breanna Wong had a team-high 12 kills (12-3-20) and hit .450 for the match, while Sierra Young (7-2-16; .312) and Macey Wilson (7-1-12; .500) both registered seven kills. Freshman setter Alyssa Phelps did a great job of picking opportune moments to attack, racking up six kills on seven attempts with one error for a .714 hitting percentage. Phelps also finished with 29 assists, while junior Kelly Reinke tallied 13 assists. Libero Natasha Rowland posted a team-high 14 digs.

Fairfield (2-7) was led by Hadley Orr's nine kills, while Caitlin Stapleton chipped in six. Setter Rachel Romansky finished with 28 assists, while libero Carsen Mata tallied nine digs.

In the first set, Fairfield got off to a quick 5-2 lead, but the Big Red slowly chipped away and a kill by Kelly Marble, followed by a block from Marble and D'Epagnier made it a two-point game (8-6). Marilyn Peizer registered a kill for the Stags, but Marble answered and Wong made it a one-point game before back-to-back attack errors from Fairfield gave Cornell the 10-9 lead.

A service ace by Phelps, followed by consecutive kills from Wong and D'Epagnier put the Big Red up, 13-9 and the team never looked back, rolling to the 25-17 victory.  

The teams traded points early in the second set before Cornell rattled off five unanswered points to take an 11-6 lead. During the run, the Big Red benefitted from two Fairfield errors, as well as a service ace from Young and kills by Wilson and Phelps.

Fairfield would pull within four points three times, but kills from Wilson and Phelps, followed by three service aces in a row from Reinke blew the set open at 20-11 and Cornell went on to win, 25-19.

The Big Red carried that momentum into the final set, jumping out to an 8-1 lead behind the strength of three kills from Wong. Fairfield would eventually close the game, making it a 14-10 game before a kill from Wong opened up a 6-1 run to put Cornell up, 20-11. The Stags would outscore the Big Red, 10-5 down the stretch, but they couldn't come all the way back, as Cornell earned the 25-2