ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell volleyball team won its longest set of the season by besting Morgan State, 34-31, in set one of Friday's matchup from Newman Arena at Bartels Hall. The Big Red fed off that momentum, defeating the Bears, 3-0, to snap a six-game losing streak. Cornell improves to 2-6 on the year, while Morgan State drops to 4-9.

Sophomore Eliza Konvicka led the Cornell attack with a team-high 20 kills and .386 hitting percentage, while Doga Ozalp was an assist machine for the red and white, dishing out 39 in total in the win. Other notables for the Big Red include freshman Jaida Sione (10 kills), junior Camryn Carlo (seven kills, three total blocks), and senior Sydney Moore (four kills, team-leading five total blocks. Makila Billingsley and Ainara Fernandes had strong outings in the loss for the Bears, each netting nine kills, who dropped to 0-2 all-time against Cornell.

The Big Red led almost every statistical category over the Bears, including kills (46-38), assists (43-35), total blocks (10.0-8.0), hitting percentage (.222-.148), and service aces (5-4), three of those coming from senior Kate Stration. Morgan State only had a slight advantage in digs (52-49) and errors (18-21).

The highlight of the match for the Big Red came right out of the gate, as both Cornell and Morgan State battled for positioning in set one. The Big Red began the set on a 7-2 run and kept that five-point cushion throughout most of the first. But the Bears clawed back later, closing the gap to one on a block by Jada Williams to make it 21-20 Cornell. Trudy Vande Berg, the Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach Of Volleyball, called a timeout to break the momentum. However, the timeout fueled the Bears to pull ahead 24-23 late in the set, forcing another Big Red timeout. This time, the timeout sparked the Big Red, as a set error by the Bears and a Konvicka kill put the Big Red one point away from winning the set, 25-24. The Bears would battle back, staying alive to tie things up at 25 apiece. Cornell would have the last laugh, as consecutive attack errors by the Bears gave Cornell its first opening set win of the year. Konvicka had a team-high 11 kills in the set, and Ozalp handed out 19 assists in a first set that saw 11 tie scores and six lead changes. 

Match Notes

• The Big Red's 34-32 set one win over the Bears is the most points combined for either team this season. The 66-point marathon was two off Cornell's 35-33 opening-set victory over Houston on Sept. 7, 2018. 
• Cornell registered a match-high .318 hitting percentage as a team in the third set against Morgan State. It is the third-highest percentage for the Big Red in 2023. 
• Eliza Konvicka's 20-kill performance is the second time the sophomore has exceeded that mark in 2023. She tallied a career-high 25 kills in the Big Red's 3-1 win over Niagara to open the season.
• Doga Ozalp extends her streak of 35 or more assists to three straight matches and now has that same mark in five of the Big Red's eight matchups this season.
• Senior Kate Straition had three service aces in the third set of Friday's win, making it the third time this season that a Cornell player has had three or more service aces in a match.
• Cornell is now 2-0 against Morgan State all-time. Friday's match was the first time the two teams faced off since Sept. 13, 1996, in Ithaca, N.Y. The Big Red won that matchup in four sets.

Up Next
The Big Red are back in action tomorrow as they welcome Iowa to Newman Arena at Bartels Hall in a first-ever matchup. The first serve is at 2:00 p.m., and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.