KENT, OHIO — The Cornell volleyball team (0-1, 0-0 Ivy) lost its season opener 3-0 to Oakland in the Kent State Invitational on Friday evening. Freshmen Eliza Konvicka showed strong in her collegiate debut, recording nine kills on 31 attempts. She also earned a block and a eight digs in the contest.

"We did a lot of good things," said Trudy Vande Berg, the Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach of Volleyball. "Our inexperience showed at times, but the great thing is that it is mostly stuff that we can adjust and fix. The foundation is there. We will keep getting better every match, I am confident in that.

Sophomore Sammie Engel earned a career-high hitting percentage at .429, from nine kills on 21 attempts. She also notched the team-high two aces and four blocks.

Megan Bickel led the team defensively with 16 digs on 20 receptions. Bickel also notched two assists.
 
Oakland and the Big Red batted the entire first set, until the Golden Grizzlies called a timeout at an 18-17 Cornell lead. Oakland rallied with three straight points, to take a 20-18 lead before Cornell called a timeout. Cornell stormed to a 24-23 lead out of the break when Oakland issued a challenge for a Big Red Touch. The call was overturned in favor of Oakland, helping the Golden Grizzlies to secure set one.
 
The second set opened with just as much back-and-forth action, but Oakland took control at the 7-7 mark when the Golden Grizzlies notched five consecutive points and maintained at least a three-point lead the remainder of the set, to win set two 25-17.

Oakland secured set three with a score of 23-18. The Big Red put together a 10-4 run late in the third set to force an Oakland timeout at 21-18. The Cornell rally was powered by Engel, who recorded two kills, two blocks, and two digs in the run.
 

Game Notes

• Cornell falls to 0-3 all-time against the Golden Grizzlies.
• Konvicka records the best freshman debut since Madison Baptiste in 2018 notched eight kills on 10 attempts for a .700 hitting percentage in her first match against Lamar.
• Nicole Mallus also made her collegiate debut, recording one kill and one block.

Looking Ahead

Cornell will next face Kent State on the Kent State Invitational at 10 a.m. in the MAC Center. The game will be broadcast live via BOXCAST.