PHILADELPHIA – For the second night in a row, Cornell senior libero Natasha Rowland moved up a rung on the Big Red's career dig list, jumping into sixth place all-time with 23 digs to lead a stout defense this evening as Cornell fell to Penn, 3-1. The match was tightly contested, with the Big Red coming up just short in a bid to force a fifth set.
 
Rowland's 23 digs led a quartet of Cornell players in double-figures, joined by Alyssa Phelps, with a career-high 18 digs, as well as Chelsea Sincox (14) and Emily Wemhoff (13). Phelps had an all-around impressive night, filling out the stat line with a career high eight kills and just one error on 20 attempts (.350), to go along with 43 assists and three block assists. Wemhoff finished with a double-double, adding 12 kills, while Macey Wilson hit a blistering .417 with 12 kills and just two errors on 24 attempts. Kit McCarty also finished with double-digit kills (11).
 
Penn (4-10, 1-3 Ivy) was led by Alexis Genske (15), Alex Caldwell (12) and Kendall Turner (10), who combined for an impressive .315 hitting (37-8-92). Caldwell finished with a triple-double, adding 22 assists and 16 digs, while Genske posted a double-double by adding 14 digs.  
 
The Quakers were on fire during the first two sets, hitting .441 and .275, respectively, to earn back-to-back wins, 25-19 and 25-18.
 
After the intermission, Cornell came out on the attack and jumped out to a 7-4 lead thanks to kills from Wilson, Phelps, and McCarty. Penn battled back to knot the game at 8-8 and the teams traded points before a kill from Wilson, a combined block from Wilson and Phelps, and a service ace from Wemhoff put the visitors up, 14-11. The Quakers called a timeout to regroup and won the next point on a kill from Turner, but Cornell answered immediately with a kill from Maddy Sroufe. Back-to-back kills from Genske made it a one-point game (15-14), but consecutive kills from Sroufe returned the three-point advantage to the Big Red. Penn made one last push to make it a one-point game at 18-17, but three straight Cornell kills, two from Wemhoff and one from Wilson, pushed the visitors ahead 21-17, and the Big Red rolled to the 25-22 victory.
 
Penn jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the fourth set, and eventually pushed its advantage to eight points (17-9), but the Big Red used an impressive 9-2 run to get back into the contest. Wemhoff proved to be the catalyst, racking up four kills during the run, while Cornell got one kill each from McCarty and Phelps to make it a 19-18 game. A kill form Turner returned some breathing room to the home team, but a Penn error, followed by a kill from Sroufe knotted the set at 20-20. The Quakers answered and went up by two points, but a kill from Wilson, a combined block by Gabrielle Ennis and Phelps, and a kill from Phelps gave Cornell its first lead of the set at 23-22. That was as close as the visitors got to forcing a fifth set, as Penn closed out the match with three-straight points to take the 25-23 victory.
 
The first Ivy League home weekend is next on tap with the Big Red welcoming Harvard (Oct. 10) and Dartmouth (Oct. 11). The games will each feature a special promotion with the team holding a Middle School & High School Night vs. the Crimson and a Youth Clinic Night vs. the Big Green. Team members will meet fans and sign posters on Middle School & High School Night following their game with Harvard at 7 p.m. The next day, the Big Red will host a Youth Clinic Night, giving children, ages 5-12, an opportunity to work with the Cornell players and coaching staff following the game with Dartmouth at 5 p.m. Admission is free to both events.