PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Big Red volleyball team concluded the first half of Ivy League play with a 3-1 loss to Penn this evening at the Palestra. Cornell won the first set, 25-23, before falling 25-22, 25-19, 25-23. With the loss, the Big Red slips to 9-8 overall and 4-3 in the conference.
 
Jillienne Bennett led the visitors with 11 kills and a solid .292 hitting percentage (11-4-24) as the only Big Red to finish in double-digits. Bennett also had three block assists, behind only Jada Stackhouse, who ended the evening with seven total blocks (two solo) as the Big Red posted 10.0 blocks as a team.
 
Lily Barber (11) and Carla Sganderlla (10) both tallied 10+ digs, while Zoe Chamness and Katie Randolph finished with 16 and 15 assists, respectively.
 
Penn (5-13, 2-5 Ivy) was led by Raven Sulaimon's 17 kills and .306 hitting percentage (17-6-36). Parker Jones also finished with 10 kills and nine digs. Libero Caroline Furrer dug 21 balls behind 12.0 team blocks.
 
The Big Red had its best offensive performance of the night in the first set, registering 15 kills and hitting .265 (15-6-34) en route to its lone victory. Cornell got out to a 3-0 lead and carried a slim advantage until consecutive Big Red errors knotted the set at 10-10. A kill from Bennett broke the tie and Cornell never trailed again, despite a late six-point rally by the Quakers, to win 25-23.
 
The second set was the most competitive of the night with four ties and the teams staying within three points of each other for nearly the entire set. With Cornell trailing by one point late in the contest (22-21) Penn finished strong with three kills, including two from Jones, to snag the 25-22 victory.
 
Cornell jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third set, thanks to a pair of service aces from Jenna Phelps, but the Quakers battled back and eventually pulled even at 13-13. A kill from Madison Baptiste returned the lead to the visitors, but three unanswered Penn points opened up the decisive 7-1 run that led to the 25-19 victory.
 
The fourth set saw Penn jump out to an early 5-1 lead. This time it was the Big Red that battled back to get within one point, but the home team responded with seven unanswered to go up, 13-6. Trailing 23-15, the Big Red had one last push with a 5-0 run to make it a 23-20 contest, but could not come all the way back as the Quakers won, 25-23.
 
The second half of Ivy League play begins in Newman Arena vs. Columbia on Oct. 20. The team will hold a free Kids Clinic following the match open to grades K-8. Please RSVP to camps@cornell.edu.