SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Big Red volleyball team fell to Colgate, 3-1, this evening in the opening round of the Otto Invitational in Syracuse, N.Y. Cornell is back in action tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 21, when it takes on Albany at 10 a.m., before facing the host Orange at 6:30 p.m.
 
After winning the first set, 25-20, the Big Red dropped three in a row, 18-25, 17-25, 15-25.
 
Cornell (2-5) was led by Macey Wilson, who had an outstanding performance with nine kills on 16 attempts with no errors for a .562 hitting percentage. Freshmen Maddy Sroufe and Emily Wemhoff both posted a team-high 11 kills with seven and six kills, respectively. Senior libero Natasha Rowland had a match-high 17 digs to lead three in double-digits, including Chelsea Sincox (11) and Alyssa Phelps (10). Phelps finished with a double-double, adding 30 assists to the Big Red effort.
 
Colgate (4-4) hit .258 as a team and was led by Kathleen Harris and Diane Seely with 10 kills apiece, while Kenzie Hume and Katie Fauntleroy finished with nine and eight kills, respectively. Setters Molly Smith (21) and Jackie Macy (19) ran the offense and Elena Simpson finished with a team-high 15 digs.
 
The Big Red started the match strong, pulling away from Colgate with an impressive offensive sequence that included back-to-back kills from Gabrielle Ennis, followed by a kill from Sroufe and a service ace from Phelps to take an 11-7 lead. Cornell eventually extended its lead to six points (16-10) and maintained the lead all the way to 19-13 before the Raiders scored five unanswered points to get back into the contest at 19-17. A kill from Sroufe ended the run, and after a kill from Ennis and a Colgate error the Big Red pushed its lead back to 22-18 and from there Cornell rolled to the 25-20 victory.
 
The second set was a back and forth battle with five ties and four lead changes until Colgate scored four unanswered points to extend a one-point lead to a 20-15 advantage. Cornell ended the run with back-to-back kills from Sroufe and Jasmine Robinson to make it a three-point deficit, but that was as close as it would get, as the Raiders closed the set on a 5-1 run.
 
Fauntleroy started the third set with a kill and Colgate led from wire-to-wire in a 25-17 decision.
 
Cornell took the early lead in the fourth set with consecutive kills from Wemhoff and eventually pushed its lead to 4-1, before the Raiders stormed back to knot the game at 6-6.  The teams traded points to 13-13 when a kill from Hume started the decisive 9-1 Colgate run that put the set out of reach.