ITHACA, N.Y. – After two consecutive weekends at home, Cornell volleyball hits the road for Ivy League action against Penn and Princeton this weekend.

Cornell at Penn
SITE: The Palestra – Philadelphia, Pa.
DATE and TIME: Friday, Oct. 13 at 7:00 p.m.
RECORDS: Cornell (4-10, 2-3 Ivy League), Penn (2-14, 0-6 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Penn leads, 47-33
BROADCAST: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: pennathletics.com

Cornell at Princeton
SITE: Dillon Gymnasium – Princeton, N.J.
DATE and TIME: Saturday, Oct. 14 at 5:00 p.m.
RECORDS: Cornell (4-10, 2-3 Ivy League), Princeton (7-7, 4-2 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Princeton leads, 61-21
BROADCAST: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: goprincetontigers.com

Week in Review
Cornell is coming off two matches inside Newman Arena over the weekend against the reigning Ivy League championship finalists in Yale and Brown. The Big Red was battle-tested throughout both matches but ultimately lost in four sets to the Bulldogs on Friday before losing a five-set heartbreaker to Brown on Saturday. 

Sophomore Eliza Konvicka led the charge for Cornell with 29 kills and six blocks on the weekend, including a team-high 19 kills in the loss to Brown on Saturday. The Houston, Texas native has ten or more kills in ten of Cornell's 14 matches in 2023. Nicole Mallus also had a solid weekend for the Big Red, recording 20 kills and a .336 hitting percentage over the two matches to earn a spot on the Ivy League's honor roll. 

Senior Sydney Moore continued her reign up front as middle blocker, registering a team-high 13 blocks. Moore also had season highs in kills (7) and total points (9.5) in the Big Red's match against Brown. Other notables on the weekend for Cornell included setter Doga Ozalp (77 assists), junior Brooke Cooper (11 kills), and three aces in a four-point span for Jackie Baker against Brown.

Despite the losses, the highlight match of the weekend came on Saturday in front of a packed house in Newman Arena against the Bears. Cornell had its back against the wall after losing the third set, 25-17, and with the momentum on Brown's side, it looked like the mojo was gone. The Big Red had other plans in the fourth, using a 12-1 run fueled by three service aces by Jackie Baker to pull ahead for good to push the game to a decisive fifth set. The fifth saw nine tie scores and six lead changes, but the Bears ended up pulling out the slim 15-13 victory to send the Cornell faithful home with a loss. 

The five-set marathon saw multiple similarities in the final box score, as the Big Red and Bears were tied in kills (56) and service aces (8), while Brown held a slim advantage in hitting percentage (.215 - .214) and digs (62-58). Cornell led the match in assists (51-46) and blocks (9-8). 

A Look Inside the Matchups

At Penn

• Friday's match will be the 81st all-time between the Big Red and the Quakers.
• Cornell has won three out of its last five matches against Penn but has not been victorious in the Palestra since winning a five-set thriller on Oct. 14, 2019.
• Penn comes into Friday at 2-14 overall and 0-6 in conference play. The Quakers also had its four-game losing streak stretch to six with consecutive 0-3 decisions on the road to Dartmouth and Harvard last Friday and Saturday.

Scouting Report

• Zada Sanger has been an attacking force for the Quakers in 2023, as the freshman sits second in the Ivy League in total kills (178) and kills/set (3.42). The Berkley, Calif. native has had ten or more kills in nine matches this season but has only registered a combined 23 kills in her last four starts.
• Senior Jo Armstrong has been the primary setting option for the Quakers, as she comes into the weekend with 394 handed out on the year, putting her fifth in the conference. Armstrong is also fourth in the Ivy with 8.95 assists/set, just ahead of Cornell's Doga Ozalp. 
• Elsa McDermott (139), Abigail Reid (122), and Bella Rittenberg (109) each have over 100 digs for Penn in 2023. McDermott and Reid are also in the top ten in the conference in digs/set, as McDermott sits eighth with a 3.09 while Reid is third with a 4.21.
• Penn is one of the best defensive teams in digs in the Ivy, sitting third in the conference in total digs (763) and fourth in digs/set (13.63).
• The Quakers have struggled mightily in offensive (.157) and defensive (.274) hitting percentage, sitting seventh and eighth in the conference. 
• Penn has also surrendered the most kills (723) and kills/set (12.91) of any team in the Ivy League.

At Princeton

• Saturday's match will be the 73rd all-time between the Big Red and the Tigers.
• Cornell has lost five out of six matches against Princeton. Its last victory over the Tigers came in four sets inside Dillon Gymnasium on Oct. 5, 2019.
• Princeton sports a 7-7 overall record and a 4-2 clip in the Ivy this season. The Tigers went 1-1 this past weekend on the road, losing to Harvard in five sets on Friday before turning around and knocking down Dartmouth in four sets on Saturday.

Scouting Report

• Lucia Scalamandre (149) and Kamryn Chaney (134) have paced the Tigers offensive attack in 2023. Chaney is also third in the conference with 3.27 kills/set, while Scalamandre has had ten or more kills in 11 of Princeton's 14 matches and is second in the Ivy in hitting percentage (.404). 
• Freshman setter Sydney Draper has had no struggle sharing this season, as she leads the Ivy League with 586 total assists and 10.46 assists/set. The Mission Hills, Kansas native also has had 30 or more assists in each match this season, including a career-high 61 in a sweep of Penn on Sept. 23. 
• Scalamandre (57.0) and Mariah Haislip (34.0) lead the Tigers in blocks in 2023.
• The Tigers' attack has been troubling for opponents in 2023, as the team sits second in the conference in total kills (200) and third in kills/set (12.50).
• Princeton is also not afraid to put together multiple rallies in a set, as it is third in the conference in digs/set (14.18).
• One area Princeton has struggled in is the blocking department, as they come into the weekend with a 1.86 blocks/set on defense and give up 2.06 blocks/set to its opponents, which both rank sixth in the Ivy League.

Up Next
After this weekend's road trip, Cornell will return to Newman Arena to host Columbia on Saturday, Oct. 21. The first serve is at 2:00 p.m., and the match will be available to stream on ESPN+.