PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Big Red volleyball team ended the 2016 season in outstanding fashion, downing Penn, 3-2, this evening in Philadelphia. With the win, Cornell concludes the season with a record of 12-12 overall (6-8 Ivy) for its most wins since 2006.
 
The teams split the first four sets, with Penn taking the first (25-22) before the Big Red won the next two (25-21, 25-19). The Quakers stormed back to dominate the fourth set (25-14), but Cornell won the finale, 15-12.
 
In the decisive fifth set, the Big Red faced a two-point deficit three times, including trailing late in the set, 10-8. But in their final career game at Cornell, seniors Alyssa Phelps and Macey Wilson would not allow the team to fail. First, the visitors caught a break with a Quaker service error making it a one-point game (10-9). Phelps then went to the service line and registered consecutive aces, before Wilson teamed up with Kit McCarty for a block to give Cornell a 12-10 lead. The Big Red did not trail again, as Phelps and Wilson accounted for five of Cornell's final six points, including teaming up on their final career point with Phelps setting up a kill from Wilson.  
 
Phelps finished the match with 38 assists and 19 digs to go along with five kills, while Wilson recorded a team-high nine kills, hit a blistering .500 (9-1-16), and posted four total blocks (one solo, three assisted).
 
Phelps concludes her career ranked second all-time in Cornell history, and 19th in the history of the Ivy League, in career assists (3,181). She also ranks 19th in Big Red history in both digs (718) and block assists (160).
 
Wilson finishes with the third most block assists in Cornell history (309).  She also ranks fifth in total blocks (359), fifth in hitting percentage (.286), 12th in solo blocks (50), and 15th in kills (629).    
 
In addition to the seniors' outstanding play, the junior class made a significant impact as Maddy Sroufe (9), Kit McCarty (8) and Emily Wemhoff (7) combined for 24 kills, while libero Kiley McPeek posted a match-high 25 digs.
 
Freshman Jenna Phelps posted seven blocks (two solo, five assists) and sophomore Carla Sganderlla chipped in seven kills.
 
Penn (10-16, 5-9) was led by Caroline Furrer's 21-kill, 12-dig double-double.

NOTES TO KNOW
* With the win, the Big Red concludes the season with a 12-12 record overall, the first time it has finished with a .500 or better record since 2008.
* Cornell also posted a 6-8 record in the Ivy League to finish fifth in the conference standings.
* For the Big Red, its 12 overall wins and six conference wins are the best marks since the 2006 squad went 18-9  overall (12-2 Ivy), while the fifth place finish is its best since the 2008 team finished third.
* Cornell finished with six more victories than it did a year ago, the best single-season turnaround since the 2003 team went 21-4 following a 14-12 performance in 2002.
* Under second-year head coach Trudy Vande Berg, Cornell is 8-6 in matches that go five sets.