NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Reigning Ivy League champion Yale defeated the Big Red volleyball team in straight sets, 25-16, 25-17, 25-14, this evening at Lee Amphitheater. Cornell (3-13, 0-6 Ivy) will be back in action seeking its first Ivy win of the season tomorrow evening when it faces Brown at 5 p.m.
 
Natasha Rowland's defense was the highlight of the night for the Big Red as the senior libero posted 21 digs, nearly half of Cornell's team total (43) and will enter tomorrow evening's game with the Bears needing just nine more to surpass Liz Bishop (2003-06) and move into fourth place all-time in Cornell history for career digs.
 
The offense was led by Emily Wemhoff's eight kills, while Macey Wilson hit a team-high .143 (5-3-14) and added five block assists. Setter Alyssa Phelps handed out 18 assists and registered three digs and three block assists.
 
Yale (9-6, 5-1 Ivy) remains atop the conference standings thanks to a solid performance from Kelly Johnson, who registered a game-high nine kills and just one error on 20 attempts for a match-best .400 hitting percentage. Mollie Rogers and Kaitlyn Gibbons both finished with seven kills and registered 12 and seven digs, respectively. Rogers was one of three Bulldogs with double-digit digs, along with Kelsey Crawford and Maddie Rudnick with 10 apiece.  Crawford also tallied 25 assists.
 
Cornell jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set of the match, by the Bulldogs regrouped, scoring the next three points to knot the set. The teams traded points to 7-7 before three unanswered points put the home team up, 10-7. Cornell used a Bulldog attack error and a kill from Jasmine Robinson to make it a one-point game (10-9), but that was as close as it would get, as Yale embarked on a 9-2 run to put the set out of reach and went on to win, 25-16.
 
The second set was also close in the early moments with four ties and two lead changes before five consecutive Yale points blew open the contest, putting the home team up, 14-6. From there, the Bulldogs rolled to the 25-17 final.
 
Yale carried that momentum in to the third set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead, but Cornell battled back, using kills from Kit McCarty, Wilson and Wemhoff to close the gap to one point, 5-4. A kill by Rodgers stole the momentum back for the home team and was followed by a kill form Claire Feely and a pair of strikes from Johnson to make it a 9-4 game. A kill from Kiley McPeek ended the streak, but Yale immediately started another extended 10-2 run to go up, 19-7. A combined block from Robinson and McCarty breathed some life into the visitors, who went on to score four straight thanks to a Yale hitting error, a kill from Robinson and another combined block from Wilson and McCarty, but Cornell could not manage the comeback as Yale one, 25-14.