PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Cornell volleyball team (9-5, 3-2 Ivy) swept Brown (4-11,1-4 Ivy) Saturday night at the Pizzitola Sports Center.
The sweep marked the first win against the Bears since 2019 at home. The last time the Big Red swept the Bears was in the same season in Rhode Island in 2019.
"I am really proud of how this team responded after last night." Head Coach Trudy Vande Berg remarked after the match. "We talked for a while after last night's match about how we all need to focus on what we need and what we are able to do individually to help our team play more consistently. I think everyone made that a focus tonight and we did what we had to do to win the match. Brown is a good team, especially at home, so I'm glad we took care of business."
Junior Eliza Konvicka led the way for Cornell with 17 kills, eight digs and an ace to mark her 11th game with double-digit kills.
Mackenzie Parsons joined Konvicka in double figures with 13 kills, career-best four assists, three digs, two blocks and an ace. Parsons earned the highest hitting percentage of the match at .632.
The lefty hitter, Haley Clark, also tabbed on 11 kills and three digs.
First Set (25-16 Cornell)
A Parsons kill earned the first point of the opening set.
Sione added a pair of kills before the Big Red would take the first run of the game with kills from Konvicka and Clark. 7-3 Cornell.
Brown came back with three straight points to bring the set within one (7-6) but Cornell would go onto add three consecutive kills and a block from Camryn Carlo and Konvicka extending the lead to five (11-6).
The 8-1 run was capped by a block from Carlo and Sione to pull ahead by eight (15-7).
Another kill from Parsons gives the ball to Sarita Pomar at the service line where she delivered with an ace.
The next four points came from Parsons with three kills and an ace, bringing the score to 23-13.
Kill from Clark brought the match to set point before the Bears added three more points (24-16). A Konvicka kill would put away the first set at 25-16.
Second Set (27-25 Cornell)
After an opening Konvicka kill, Brown went on a 4-0 run to start with the early lead of 1-5.
Parsons and Konvicka would bring the score within one with kills from each, 4-5.
Both sides remained tightly knit through the media timeout where Cornell strung together a 4-1 run with kills from Parsons, Konvicka and Clark that sent Brown into a timeout at 15-16.
The Bears came out of the timeout with four straight points to take a five-point lead (15-20).
Clark added two kills alongside a Carlo/Ozalp block to gain momentum at 18-22.
A Konvicka kills sparks a five-point run to tie it up at 23-23.
After a Brown point, consecutive kills from Sione and Konvicka brought the set to the second match point, Brown would add another kill before the Big Red would finish off the second set with a Sione kill and ace from Konvicka. 27-25 Cornell.
Third Set (26-24 Cornell)
Cornell started the third stanza with a 6-2 lead.
Brown would battle to tie with four straight points (6-6).
Cornell was down by two after a tight middle of the match (11-13) when a kill from Parson started a 3-0 run to take the lead at 14-13.
From that point, the match would be tied up five times until 24-24.
The highlights included a 5-0 run from Cornell and a Parsons kill to take the final set at 26-24.
Match Notes
Mackenzie Parsons earned a perfect first set going five for five in hitting attempts.
Mackenzie Parsons led the Big Red in hitting percentage with .632 on 13 kills.
With 37 assists and 10 digs, Doga Ozalp marked her fourth game with a double-double.
Eliza Konvicka marked her 11th game with double-digit kills.
The team recorded a season-high hitting percentage of .330.
Up Next
Cornell will return to action on Friday, Oct. 18 and Saturday Oct. 19 when the Big Red welcomes Penn and Princeton at Newman Arena. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. against Penn.
