BUFFALO, N.Y. – With a 3-0 (25-10, 25-21, 25-16) sweep of Saint Francis (Pa.), the Cornell women's volleyball team (7-2) clinched the Blue and White Classic championship Saturday morning at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Big Red, who posted a perfect 3-0 record this weekend after victories over Canisius (3-0), Buffalo (3-2), and Saint Francis (3-0), has now won five straight games. Cornell will enter Ivy League play next weekend with a 7-2 record, the Big Red's best start since the 2005 season when the team also went 7-2 in non-conference play.
Following the tournament, senior middle blocker Jenna Phelps was named the Blue and White Classic tournament MVP after averaging 8.67 kills and four block assists per game to go along with a 0.433 hitting percentage over the Big Red's three matches. This marks the senior's second all-tournament team selection of the season, after being named to the Bay Area Invitational all-tournament team last weekend.
Senior middle blocker Jada Stackhouse and freshman outside hitter Joanna Chang also earned spots on the Blue and White Classic all-tournament team. Stackhouse is having a phenomenal senior campaign, having earned a spot on the all-tournament team at all three non-conference tournaments in which the Big Red competed this season. This weekend, Stackhouse averaged five kills and 2.0 blocks per game in contests against Canisius and Saint Francis.
Chang earns the first all-tournament team honor of her young career after averaging 8.67 kills, 8.00 digs, 1.67 service aces, and one block assist per game over the three game tournament.
The Big Red were led in Saturday morning's win over Saint Francis by Lauren Stubbs, who registered a game-high 10 kills. Casey Justus and Phelps also played well, registering eight and seven kills, respectively. As a team, the Big Red controlled the offensive flow of the game, out-hitting the Red Flash .341 to .086. Cornell nearly doubled Saint Francis' kill total, tallying 40 as compared to the Red Flash's 22.
Led by Emma Worthington (15) and Zoe Chamness (14), who combined for 29 of the Big Red's 36 assists, Cornell out-assisted Saint Francis 36 to 22. The Big Red also held the serving advantage, tallying eight service aces as compared to the Red Flash's three. Chamness and Chang each recorded a pair of aces.
The Big Red picked up right where they left off last night, shooting out to a 10-2 lead to open set one. Justus, Jillienne Bennett, and Lauren Stubbs all recorded kills during the run, and Justus also added a service ace. There was nothing stopping Cornell in the first set, with the Big Red rolling to a 25-10 set one victory. Bennett and Justus combined for seven of the Big Red's 11 kills in the opening frame, while Cornell held Saint Francis to just two kills. The Big Red also out-hit the Red Flash .259 to -.217 en route to the set one win.
Cornell's success continued in set two, as a pair of Paige Becker kills and a Chang kill got the Big Red off to a 4-1 start. Saint Francis showed fight early on, nearly evening the score up at 6-5, but a Phelps kill and a Chang service ace extended the Big Red lead back to 8-5. Saint Francis' fight would only increase, however, and with the score at 13-11 in favor of Cornell, the Red Flash would score five of the next six points to take a 16-14 lead.
The Big Red quickly responded with a run of their own, scoring five of the next six points to reclaim a 19-17 advantage. A pair of Justus kills and a Chamness service ace gave the Big Red the boost they needed to get back on top, and the Big Red would go on to win set two, 25-21. Stubbs came up big in the final points of the second set, notching a service ace and three kills, including the final point of the set.
Stubbs carried her momentum into the third set, notching a kill on the first play of the frame to get Cornell off on the right foot. Justus also continued to make her mark, adding two kills of her own to help Cornell to a 5-1 lead to begin the set. The Big Red would extend its lead, and following a pair of kills from Phelps and Chang and a Katie Randolph service ace, Cornell found themselves up 10-5. The Big Red would never trail in the third set and would extend their lead to as much as 10 points, going on to win the set, 25-16, and the game, 3-0.
The Big Red will be back in action next weekend when they open Ivy League play at home against Columbia on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
