ITHACA, N.Y. - The Big Red volleyball team gave Ivy League leading Yale all it could handle, but came up short, falling in straight sets, 25-22, 27-25, 25-20. On her Senior Night, libero
Natasha Rowland registered a match-high 20 digs to move into third place all-time in Cornell history with 1,281 career digs.
Cornell (5-17, 2-10 Ivy) was led by freshman
Maddy Sroufe and sophomore Macy Wilson with nine and eight kills, respectively. Wilson also hit a team-high .316 (8-2-19) and registered three total blocks (two solo). In addition to Rowland's stout defensive performance, freshman
Emily Wemhoff registered 20 digs, while setter
Alyssa Phelps finished with 30 assits and 10 digs.
Yale (14-7, 10-2 Ivy) was led by Mollie Rogers, who registered 16 kills, hit .359 (16-2-39) and posted 11 digs. Kelly Johnson (13) and Maya Midzik (12) also finished with double-digit kills. Johnson also finished with 20 digs. Setter Kelsey Crawford tallied 42 assits and 13 digs.
The Bulldogs jumped on the Big Red in the first set, scoring seven of the game's first nine points to snatch the early momentum. Cornell battled to stay in the set, alternating points with Yale through the middle portion of the opening set. Trailing 21-14, the Big Red made a push, going on an 8-2 run to pull within striking distance. Sroufe had two kills, while
Natasha Rowland and
Alyssa Phelps notched service aces on the run. With the sizeable lead evaporated to just a single-point lead, the Bulldogs were able to escape with the set's final two points to snatch the early lead.
The second set was wild, as the teams combined for 16 ties and five lead changes in the middle frame. The Big Red looked to snag control late in the set, after a kill from
Kit McCarty and an attack error from Yale's Kelly Johnson, Cornell led 21-18. Yale regrouped following the team timeout to score the next four points. Sroufe pushed the set to extra points with her fourth kill of the set, but Yale would score the following two points to take the commanding 2-0 lead.
Facing the daunting deficit, Cornell came out firing in the third set, scoring four of the game's first five points. Yale would not be deterred, string together a 9-4 run in the middle portion of the set to take a 17-13 lead. The Big Red would hang around, but the deficit proved too much to overcome, as the Bulldogs hung on for 25-20 victory in the set and the straight sets match victory.
Cornell will hit the road for its final two matches of the season this coming weekend. First, the Big Red will head to Hanover, N.H., for a 7 p.m. opening serve against Dartmouth on Friday, Nov. 14. Cornell will conclude the 2014 season the following evening when it takes on Harvard at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15.
