ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell senior Emily Wemhoff recorded a career-high 23 kills to lift the Big Red volleyball team to a 3-1 victory in the Ivy League opener vs. Columbia this afternoon at Newman Arena. Cornell won the first set, 27-25, before the Lions fought back to take a 26-24 win in the second set. The Big Red stormed back after the intermission to win the match, 25-19, 25-18, and even its record at 5-5.
 
Wemhoff was the only Cornell player to reach double-digits in kills, but was one of three Big Red to hit over .400 for the match as Jenna Phelps (8-0-15) and Kara Rogers (6-0-14) combined for 14 kills on 29 attempts with no errors to hit .533 and .429, respectively. Phelps also added seven total blocks (six assisted), while Rogers chipped in four block assists.
 
Defensively, libero Kiley McPeek finished with 16 digs, while Samanta Arena added 11 to the cause. Overall, Cornell held the Lions to just .160 hitting for the game and kept the Lions' Chichi Ikwuazom, who entered the game leading the conference with a .411 hitting percentage, to a mere .235 hitting with just seven kills.
 
Freshman Zoe Chamness led the team with 29 assists, while Chelsea Sincox finished with 24.
 
Columbia (5-5, 0-1 Ivy) was led by Jamie Dailey' 14 kills.
 
COACH'S CORNER – TRUDY VANDE BERG
"Playing in our first Ivy League match brings a lot of nerves. There's a lot of build up to it because we want to do so well in the Ivy League. So I knew that first set was going to be a little ugly, and it was. But I thought we settled down after the second set and I was pleased with that ... We made a lot of errors in those first two sets and it made us a little more frantic than we usually are. After that we started to execute and play our game. We calmed down, took our swings, and took advantage of what they gave us."
 
TURNING POINT
With Cornel clinging to a slim 14-13 lead in the third set, a kill from Wemhoff sent Lily Barber to the service line and the sophomore defensive specialist rattled off six tough serves in a run that featured three Columbia errors and kills from Lauren Stubbs and Kit McCarty, to put the Big Red up, 20-14.
 
Cornell closed the third set with four kills with no errors, before hitting an impressive .303 in the fourth set to roll to the victory.
 
UP NEXT
The Big Red hits the road next weekend, traveling to Harvard on Friday, Sept. 29 and Dartmouth on Saturday, Sept. 30. Cornell split its meetings with the Crimson and the Big Green a year ago, but still holds significant leads in both series, posting a 37-27 advantage all-time against Harvard and a record of 41-16 all-time vs. Dartmouth.