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Cornell University Athletics

The Cornell volleyball team celebrates after winning a point during its match against Penn on Saturday, November 4, 2023 at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
Darl Zehr/Cornell Athletics

Volleyball Travels To Brown, Yale to Close Out 2023 Regular Season

11/7/2023 1:00:00 PM

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell volleyball team will head east to close out the 2023 regular season against Brown and Yale this weekend.

CORNELL AT BROWN
SITE: Pizzitola Sports Center – Providence, R.I.
DATE and TIME: Friday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.
RECORDS: Cornell (7-14, 5-7 Ivy League), Brown (16-6, 7-5 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 45-31
BROADCAST: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: brownbears.com

CORNELL AT YALE
SITE: John J. Lee Amphitheater – New Haven, Conn.
DATE and TIME: Saturday, Nov. 11 at 5:30 p.m.
RECORDS: Cornell (7-14, 5-7 Ivy League), Yale (17-3, 12-0 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Yale Leads, 52-26
BROADCAST: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: yalebulldogs.com

WEEK IN REVIEW
The Big Red is coming off another split in its final home matches of the season this past weekend from Newman Arena. Cornell fell to the Princeton Tigers in straight sets on Friday before turning around and sweeping Penn on Saturday to send its four seniors off with a win.

Cornell's attack struggled in Friday's match against the Tigers, recording 28 kills and a .128 hitting percentage. Sophomore Eliza Konvicka had 14 successful attacks, making it the 14th time this season that the Houston, Texas native has had double-digit kills in a match. Senior Sydney Moore led the defensive front with four total blocks, making it the ninth-straight game that she has had four or more stuffs.

Despite the loss Friday, Cornell would turn things around on Saturday, knocking down Penn in straight sets to send its four seniors (Rylee Baptiste, Sydney Moore, Alexa Orent, Kate Stration) out with a win in their final home game for the red and white. Kate Stration had a night she will never forget, recording a career-high 12 kills and two blocks in the Big Red's eighth consecutive home win over the Quakers. Sydney Moore also notched her 100th block of the season during the third set, becoming the first Big Red middle blocker to hit the century mark since Jada Stackhouse in 2019.

It was also a milestone night for the Big Red defense, as it held Penn to a season-low -.013 hitting percentage, making it the first time under head coach Trudy Vande Berg that an opponent had a final negative hitting percentage. Other notables for the Big Red in the victory over Penn included Eliza Konvicka (12 kills, team-high .611 hitting percentage) and Camryn Carlo, who had five blocks for the fifth time this season.

STILL IN THE HUNT
With the split against the Tigers and Quakers, Cornell finds itself in the middle of the Ivy League postseason tournament conversation as the league heads into the final weekend of regular season action. The Big Red will need to sweep the weekend and get some help to make the four-team tournament for the first time in program history.

A LOOK INSIDE THE MATCHUPS

AT BROWN

  • Friday's match will be the 77th all-time between the Big Red and the Bears.
  • Cornell is 12-17 all-time in Providence, R.I., and has lost six out of its last ten games in the Pizzitola Sports Center. Its last win over the Bears came in straight sets on Oct. 18, 2019.
  • Eight out of 10 road matches between Cornell and Brown have gone four sets or more, with Brown winning five of those. The Big Red has not won a match north of four games in Rhode Island since winning three consecutive 3-1 decisions from 2016-19.
  • Cornell has recorded 45 or more successful attacks in its last five matches in the Ocean State. The Big Red is 3-2 in those games, including a high of 58 in a four-set victory on Nov. 10, 2018.

MATCHUP FLASHBACK: CORNELL DROPS FIVE-SET HEARTBREAKER TO BROWN
Cornell and Brown had a highlight-filled first matchup in Newman Arena on Oct. 7, with the Bears taking a 3-2 decision. 

Eliza Konvicka (19) and Camryn Carlo (10) each had double-digit kills in the loss, making it Cornell's fifth-consecutive defeat to the Bears and the 12th time in matchup history that a match went five sets. Konvicka and Sydney Moore also had five blocks apiece for the Big Red.

Both teams were identical in service aces (eight) and kills (56), with Cornell having the slight edge in blocks (9-8) and points (73.5-72.0).

 SCOUTING REPORT

  • The Bears are coming off a weekend split on the road, as it lost to Harvard in straight sets on Friday before knocking off Dartmouth in Hanover via a 3-0 sweep. Brown finds itself at 16-6 and 7-5 in conference play, putting them in third place in the Ivy. 
  • Jilienne Widener and Mariia Sidorova helped turn the tide in Saturday's win over the Big Green, recording 26 kills, eight digs, and four blocks combined. Cierra Jenkins also had 33 assists in the victory for the Bears.
  • Since beginning conference play, both Jenkins and Beau Vanderlaan have been in the top five across the Ivy League in hitting percentage. Jenkins sits at the top with a .438, while Vanderlaan is fifth (.356).
  • Sophomore libero/defense specialist Jessie Golden has been a digging machine for the Bears in conference play, as she leads the league in total digs (228) and digs/set (5.43).
  • Victoria Vo has come up aces in the service department all season for the Bears, recording 35 over 77 sets played. That mark is the best in the Ivy League. 
  • Brown's defense has clamped down on opposing offenses in 2023, allowing a .174 hitting percentage and 11.25 kills per set. Both metrics are at the top of the conference.
  • On the flip side, Brown's offense has been a nightmare for opposing defenses, as it sits number one in the conference with 1060 total kills and 957 assists. 
  • One area the Bears have struggled in is allowing opponents to continue rallies, giving up 13.84 digs per set, good for seventh in the Ivy.

AT YALE

  • Saturday's match will be the 79th all-time between the Big Red and the Bulldogs.
  • Cornell is 5-24 all-time in the John J. Lee Amphitheater and has not won in New Haven since Oct. 28, 2005, when the Big Red knocked off the Bulldogs in five sets.
  • The red and white has lost 3-0 in five of its last ten road matches against the blue and white, including three out of four.
  • Cornell has recorded 40 or more kills in four of its last eight trips to Connecticut, including 68 in a four-set defeat on Oct. 7, 2017.

MATCHUP FLASHBACK: BIG RED FALLS TO FOUR IN YALE
The Big Red and the Bulldogs faced off already on Oct. 6 in Newman Arena. Cornell won the opening set but could not keep the momentum, losing in four. 

Nicole Mallus (11 kills, team-high .409 hitting percentage) and Eliza Konvicka (10 kills, three service aces) led Cornell in the loss. Sydney Moore also had eight total blocks in the defeat, one off her season-high against West Virginia on Sept. 8.

The Big Red dominated the first set of the match, netting a .417 hitting percentage and a team-high 14 kills. After the opening set, Cornell struggled on offense, mustering 25 kills and a .109 attack percentage over the final three sets.

SCOUTING REPORT

  • The Bulldogs come into the weekend riding a 13-match winning streak after defeating Dartmouth in straight sets on Friday and a 3-1 win against Harvard on Saturday. Yale is 17-3 overall and 12-0 in the conference and has locked up the No. 1 seed and hosting rights for the 2023 Ivy League Postseason Tournament.
  • Yale had a combined 99 kills and a .327 hitting percentage in its wins over the Big Green and Crimson. First-year player Betsy Goodenow had 29 of those on the weekend for the blue and white.
  • Senior Audrey Leak has been a problem for Ivy League opponents since conference play began, as the outside hitter leads the Ivy with 3.93 kills/set. The Saddle River, N.J. native also has 157 total kills in conference play, putting her only three behind Cornell's Eliza Konvicka for the league lead.
  • Carly Diehl has been the best setter in the Ivy League all season, as she comes into the weekend at the top of the conference with 10.26 given out per set. The junior has had 30 or more assists in 15 of the Bulldogs 20 matches in 2023.
  • Yale's offensive attack has been a problem for opposing defenses all year long, as the Bulldogs are at the top of the conference in service aces per set (1.89), kills/set (13.86), and hitting percentage (.273).
  • The Bulldogs defense has been sound in Ivy League play, leading the conference with a .172 hitting percentage allowed and 1.69 blocks/set. 
  • Similar to Brown, Yale does allow its opponents to hang around with long rallies, as it sits sixth in the conference with 13.84 digs/set allowed.
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