ITHACA, N.Y. – After finishing up its non-conference schedule this past weekend, the Cornell volleyball team hits the road to open its Ivy League schedule against Columbia on Saturday.
Game Info
SITE: Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium – New York, N.Y.
DATE and TIME: Saturday, Sept. 23 at 5:00 p.m.
RECORDS: Cornell (2-7, 0-0 Ivy League), Columbia (2-7, 0-0 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 59-15
BROADCAST: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: gocolumbialions.com
Split at Cornell Invitational
The Big Red hosted its Cornell Invitational this past weekend, going 1-1. The red and white snapped a six-match losing streak on Friday by beating Morgan State (3-0) before losing a tightly-contested match against Iowa on Saturday (0-3) in the first-ever matchup between both programs. Friday's victory over the Bears was also the 800th win in program history, dating back to 1972.
Cornell dominated the scoring sheet in Friday's win over the Bears, leading in almost every category, including kills (46-38), blocks (10-8), and assists (43-35). It did not start easy for the Big Red on Friday, as its 34-32 win in the opening set is now the longest the team has been in this season, beating its 33-31 third set victory against Colgate on Sept. 9. Saturday's box score against Iowa does not tell the whole story, as the Big Red kept things close through the first two sets against its Big-10 counterpart. The red and white held Iowa's kills leader Caitlan Buettner to nine on the afternoon and led in blocks (12-10).
Sophomore OH Eliza Konvicka led the attack for the Big Red over the two matches, netting 29 kills, including a team-high 20 in the win over Morgan State. Konvicka also led Cornell in hitting percentage (.386) on the weekend. Freshman libero Sarita Pomar also averaged over five digs a set on the weekend and extended her lead in the conference with 147 total digs in 2023.
Sophomore Doga Ozalp was another bright spot, dishing out 59 assists on the weekend, including her 300th of the season during the third set of Saturday's match against Iowa. Ozalp also extended her streak of 20 or more assists to five-consecutive matches. Plus, Sydney Moore (10) and Camryn Carlo (8) continued to pile up blocks on the season. Carlo is currently second in the Ivy League with 38 total blocks, while Moore is right behind in third with 37.
Inside the Lions
- The Lions went 6-17 overall and 3-11 in Ivy League play last season.
- Columbia comes into Saturday sporting a 2-7 overall record and is currently riding a three-match losing streak.
- Junior OH Hailey Watts leads Columbia with 77 kills and 91.5 points in nine matches this season, including six starts.
- Senior MB Soah Franklin comes into Saturday's match as the team leader in hitting percentage (.305), while sophomore setter Ruby van der Heide leads the Lions with 146 assists given out on the year.
- The Lions are one of the best teams in the conference regarding opponent blocks, as they are second in Ivy with 1.87 given up per set.
- Columbia sits dead last in the conference regarding kills/set (10.47), hitting percentage (.188), and digs/set (11.18)
Series History
- Saturday's match will be the 75th all-time between the Big Red and the Lions.
- Cornell has won eight out of the last ten matches against Columbia, dating back to Sept. 23, 2017, when the Big Red defeated the Lions in four sets in Ithaca, N.Y.
- The Big Red and Lions have split each of the last ten matches in Levien Gymnasium, with Cornell taking the most recent battle on Oct. 22, 2022, in straight sets.
Up Next
After Saturday's match, the Big Red return to Newman Arena at Bartels Hall for a weekend slate of Ivy League action. Cornell hosts Dartmouth on Friday, Sept. 29 at 7:00 p.m. before hosting Harvard on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 5:00 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
