PHILADELPHIA – The Cornell volleyball (7-14, 3-10) team fell to Penn (7-15, 4-9), 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-20) on Friday night at The Palestra in Philadelphia, Pa.

Madison Baptiste led the Big Red attack with a team-high nine kills to go along with a .238 hitting percentage. The senior outside hitter also added a pair of blocks, as she was one of four Cornell student-athletes with multiple blocks in the match. Avery Hanan was among them, collecting four in addition to tallying­ seven kills.

Sophomore middle blocker Sydney Moore led the Big Red's blocking efforts, as her match-high six blocks (one solo, five assisted) were a big reason why Cornell out-blocked the Quakers in the contest, 10.0 to 6.0. Freshman middle blocker Camryn Carlo stuffed four Penn attackers, also adding five kills on eight attempts for a .625 hitting percentage.

Sophomore Rylee Baptiste was just one dig shy of a double-double, posting a team-high 15 assists and nine digs to go along with an ace and a kill. Megan Bickel paced Cornell in the dig column, collecting 14 digs.

The Big Red and the Quakers were matched evenly throughout the contest, but it was Penn that put together runs in pivotal moments to emerge victorious. With the score tied at 17-17 in the first set, Penn went on an 8-3 run to win the opening frame, 25-20.

The Quakers led by as many as nine in the second set, 20-11, but a Cornell timeout proved useful, as the Big Red was on the cusp of a second set comeback. The Big Red scored 10 of the next 12 points to get within one, 22-21. Penn hung on, however, scoring three of the next four to take the second set, 25-20.

Cornell held a 9-5 lead in the third set, but the Quakers scored seven of the next nine points to take a 12-11 advantage. Things were neck-and-neck from here until the score struck 15-15, at which point Penn went on a 5-2 run to claim a 20-17 lead. It was the separation Penn needed propel itself to a 25-20 set three victory and a win for the match.

The Cornell volleyball team will play its final match of the 2021 season tomorrow against Princeton at 5 p.m. at Dillion Gymnasium in Princeton, N.J.