HOUSTON – University of Texas San Antonio won the first set, 25-16, but the Big Red volleyball team battled back to win the next three – 25-19, 25-18, 25-19 – to earn the 3-1 victory over the Roadrunners in the morning matchup at the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup. With the win, Cornell stays in the hunt for the tournament title as it handed UTSA its first loss of the weekend.
 
The Big Red returns to the court at 3:30 p.m. to take on Houston Baptist in its final match of the weekend.
 
Cornell (4-2) recorded a season-high .323 hitting percentage, bolstered by Jenna Phelps (.647) and Avery Hanan (.636), who both finished above .600. Phelps also led the team with 12 kills and five block assists.
 
Jillienne Bennett (11) and Carla Sganderlla (10) finished in double-digits and posted a .391 and .242 hitting percentage, respectively. Sganderlla also matched a career-high with 20 digs, while libero Lily Barber finished with 11.
 
The Big Red's duo of setters, Katie Randolph and Zoe Chamness, finished with 27 and 24 assists, respectively.
 
UTSA (7-2) was led by Brianna McCulloch's 24 kills.
 
The first set was a back-and-forth battle before six unanswered UTSA points handed the Roadrunner an 18-11 lead from which Cornell could not recover.
 
The Big Red responded by scoring the first four points of the second set and never trailed. UTSA eventually knotted the set at 10-10, but a timely block from Bennett, Chamness and Jada Stackhouse sparked a 6-0 run that featured a pair of kills from Sganderlla and one apiece from Bennett, Phelps, and Hanan. Cornell led by at least four points the rest of the way en route to the 25-19 victory.
 
The third set was the most competitive of the day with 12 ties and four lead changes, but the Big Red finished strong, scoring the final six points of the set to win, 25-18.
 
Cornell held a slim lead through the majority of the fourth set, eventually pushing its advantage to a set-high seven points at 22-15, before holding off a late rally by the Roadrunners to earn the 25-19 victory.