SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Freshman Emily Wemhoff registered a career-high 20 kills and finished with 10 digs and a match-high .372 hitting percentage to lead the Big Red to a 3-1 victory over Albany this morning at the Otto Invitational. Cornell will face the host Orange later this evening as the tournament concludes at 6 p.m.
 
In addition to Wemhoff's outstanding performance, Kit McCartney finished with 11 kills and just two errors on 25 attempts (.360), while Maddy Sroufe reached double-digit kills as well (11). Setter Alyssa Phelps ran the offense with 44 assists and nine digs, while libero Natasha Rowland had a match-high 23 digs.
 
Albany (2-9) was led by Laini Leindecker's 10-kill, 11-dig double-double, but the Great Danes hit just .084 as a team. Makila McCauley handed out 34 assists
 
The Big Red started the match with a commanding 25-13 victory. A kill by Wemhoff set the tone as Cornell jumped out to a 7-1 lead. The Great Danes never got back within five points, as the Big Red eventually doubled-up at 20-10 on a Phelps service ace and cruised to the victory.
 
The Great Danes regrouped in a second set that featured six ties and five lead changes before stealing the 27-25 victory.
 
Cornell rebounded in the third set and once again jumped out to a commanding 7-2 lead, a run that included a pair of kills from Wemhoff and a kill from McCarty. The Big Red extended its lead to 11-4 and kept at least a five-point cushion the rest of the way, before taking the 25-18 victory.
 
The decisive fourth set started as a back and forth struggle with 11 ties and six lead changes before the Big Red scored four consecutive points, including kills from Wemhoff and Sroufe, as well as a service ace from Chelsea Sincox to take a 20-16 lead. Cornell pushed its lead to 24-17 after back-to-back kills from Phelps and Wemhoff and then held off a late Albany surge to hold on for the 25-21 win.