ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell volleyball team made every last effort to push the match to a fourth set and keep its hopes for a victory alive, but the Tigers prevailed after a 66-point third set, sweeping the Big Red, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 34-32), on Friday night at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
Casey Justus was brilliant in the loss, collecting a team-high and career-best 15 kills on 24 attempts for a .542 hitting percentage. Her hitting percentage marks the second-highest for a Big Red student-athlete this season, and comes just one match after she registered 10 kills and a .526 hitting percentage against Yale last weekend. Justus has undoubtedly hit her stride as of late, also adding three digs, a pair of blocks, and an ace on Friday night against the Tigers. Madison Baptiste joined Justus in the double-digit kills category with 12, as the senior duo combined for 27 of Cornell's 43 kills.
It was a pair of freshmen in libero Jackie Baker and defensive specialist Megan Bickel who controlled the Big Red's game in the back row. Baker has been a pillar at libero all-season long, amassing double-digit digs with a team-high 13 while serving up a pair of aces on Friday. Bickel made her first collegiate start against the Tigers, finishing the contest with nine digs.
The Big Red played Princeton closely, but despite Justus' highly-efficient performance, the Tigers out-hit Cornell on the match, .258 to .202. For the first time in six matches, Cornell was unable to hold the advantage at the net, as Princeton tallied 11 blocks (one solo, 10 assisted) as compared to Cornell's eight (two solo, six assisted). Freshman Camryn Carlo continues to settle in to her role, notching a pair of solo blocks and an assisted block.
Cornell trailed by as many as seven points in the first set, 12-5, but brought it back to within four, 12-8, after scoring four-straight points out of a timeout, which included a Jillienne Bennett service ace and a Justus kill. The kill for Justus was just one in a set that saw her notch six. Cornell would keep the deficit in this ballpark until Princeton re-extended its lead to seven late in the set to get to set point, 24-17. The Big Red showed fight, fending off four set points, including another Justus kill and a Baptiste kill. Princeton's Julia Schner would notch a kill of her own, however, to give Princeton the 25-21 victory in the first.
The second set saw neither team willing to concede early on, with Princeton establishing the first notable advantage at 10-7. The Big Red quickly eliminated it however, scoring three straight points on a Justus kill, Justus and Baptiste block, and Princeton attack error, to bring the score to 10-10. The Tigers would go on a 4-1 run over the next five points, however, to reclaim a 14-11 lead. It was an advantage Princeton would never relinquish, and after scoring three-consecutive points to end the set, won the second, 25-20, to go up 2-0 for the match. Justus tallied three more kills in the second and, at that point, had just 11 attempts for the match, giving her an .818 hitting percentage through two sets.
The Big Red got down to business at the start of the third, opening the set on a 6-0 run to force an early Princeton timeout. It was once again kills from Baptiste and Justus that highlighted the run, along with a Kate Stration service ace and a slew of Tiger attack errors. Cornell seemed to be controlling the tides throughout the third, leading by six again with the score at 16-10. But as the set progressed, the tides started to turn, and Princeton inched closer and closer. Despite the Tigers getting it to within one, 17-16, Cornell re-established itself and extended its lead to three at set point, 24-21. Princeton wasn't ready to go away, however, scoring three straight points to even things up, 24-24.
The set would provide fans with a hefty amount of extra volleyball, as both teams continued to go back and forth, each squad scoring points in crunch time. With Princeton holding a 28-27 lead, Cornell hung in there, with a clutch kill from Brooke Cooper and a convincing block from Bennett and Justus giving Cornell the advantage, 29-28. The Big Red was unable to close the door, and the set continued. With the score at 32-32, it was Princeton that put the pieces of the puzzle together to end the set, scoring the next two points to win the third, 34-32, and the match, 3-0.
The Cornell volleyball team falls to 4-8 overall and 0-4 in the Ivy League with the loss, while Princeton improves its win streak to nine matches and its record to 10-2, including 4-0 in conference. The Big Red will look to get back in the win column and secure its first conference victory when it hosts Penn tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
