ITHACA, N.Y. – The Big Red volleyball team opened the 2016 campaign in impressive fashion with a solid 3-1 victory over Colgate this evening in Newman Arena. Game scores were 27-25, 18-25, 25-18, 25-21. The game concluded day one of the Cornell Invitational, as James Madison defeated Marist, 3-1, in the evening's earlier contest. The tournament continues tomorrow with the Big Red facing the Dukes at 11 a.m.
 
"The team has been working so hard, they were just really excited to play," said Trudy Vande Berg, The Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach Of Volleyball. "We had a great crowd tonight and I think they fed off the girls' enthusiasm, and then we were able to feed off the crowd a little bit."
 
Cornell displayed a well-balanced attack that featured four players with double-digit kills. Sophomore Carla Sganderlla, who led the team in kills a season ago, picked up right where her rookie campaign left off, posting 17 kills and hitting a solid .220 (17-6-50).  She also chipped in 15 digs Junior Kit McCarty was also impressive, hitting .393 with 14 kills (14-3-28). Senior Macey Wilson and junior Emily Wemhoff had 14 and 13 kills, respectively, as each finished with six errors. Rookie Jenna Phelps was nearly unstoppable in her collegiate debut with nine kills and no errors on just 13 attempts for a blistering .692 hitting percentage.
 
Senior setter Alyssa Phelps finished with 45 assists and 12 digs, while freshman libero Lily Barber had a team-high 17 digs. Defensive specialist Chelsea Sincox also posted 13 digs in the win.
 
"It's great to be in a situation to not be dependent on freshmen to take the load because we have players with the experience of being in big matches in front of big crowds," said Vande Berg. "Our upperclassmen played really well tonight and were able to lead us. But I was really happy that Jenna [Phelps] just crushed that first ball. I think it set a tone for her tonight. And Lily [Barber] was great making adjustments to the Colgate hitters during the game. Overall, I couldn't be happier with the way we've come together after just two weeks of practice."
 
The Big Red used an impressive comeback in the first set, erasing a 21-16 Colgate lead to win, 27-25. Each of Cornell's final 10 points in the set came via kill, with three from Wilson, two each from Sganderlla and McCarty, and one from Wemhoff.
 
Colgate won the second set, 25-18, and the third set was a back-and-forth contest before a brilliant play by Kiley McPeek stole the momentum for the home team. With the Big Red holding a slim one-point lead, Colgate's Kathleen Harris ripped a shot cross court that glanced off Barber's arm. The Raiders began to celebrate what seemed a sure kill, but the errant pass dropped to McPeek's foot and the junior kicked it toward the net, where it was killed by McCarty. From there, the Big Red used a 7-2 run to put the set away, winning, 25-18.  
 
"We tell the players all the time that if you make a big play, then momentum can shift," said Vande Berg. "We were neck-and-neck with Colgate to that point. We have been working so hard to be a team that's hard to score against and that play by Kiley was the epitome of what we're working towards. They were celebrating. They thought they had a kill but then Kiley just stuck her foot out and Kit got the kill and I think momentum really shifted. A play like that just takes the wind out of the other team's sails."
 
Colgate responded early in the fourth set by jumping out to a 10-5 lead, but the Big Red slowly chipped away before knotting the game, 14-14, on a double block from Wilson and Alyssa Phelps. The score would be tied five more times down the stretch but Cornell closed the set with a 5-1 run to win, 25-21.