ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Big Red volleyball team opened a promising 2019 campaign with a decisive 3-0 sweep of Youngstown State on Friday evening to cap day one of the Cornell Invitational at Newman Arena. The loss was YSU's first of the season after getting off to a 4-0 start as Cornell picked up the 25-16, 25-19, 25-21 triumph.
 

Cornell's offense was balanced, with Jillienne Bennett (nine), Samanta Arenas (eight), Jada Stackhouse (seven) and Avery Hanan (seven) combined for 31 of the team's 38 kills as the Big Red hit .230 as a team. Just as impressively, Cornell limited the Penguins to .113 hitting with six team blocks. Arenas added a team-best seven digs and Emma Worthington (19) and Zoe Chamness (13) combined for 32 assists.
 

Aleah Hughes led Youngstown with eight kills to go along with eight digs, while Brooklyn Pe'a notched 11 digs and Alexia Byrnes was credited with a match-high 24 assists.
 

The Big Red's explosive 25-16 win out of the locker room set the tone as the home team blitzed the Penguins with a .344 hitting percentage while holding YSU neutral in the first set.
 

Cornell was forced to rally in both the second and third against the visitors, but they did just that. The Big Red trailed 11-6 in the second before scoring six consecutive points en route to a 25-19 victory, then bounced back from a five-point deficit in the third for a four-point win.
 

The win was the Big Red's fourth in the last five season openers and the seventh in its last 10 matches at the Cornell Invite.
 

The Big Red will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 11 a.m. when it hosts Niagara.