CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Cornell volleyball team (8-4, 2-1 Ivy) drops its first conference game against Harvard at the Malkin Athletic Center on Saturday night.

Freshman Mackenzie Parsons slammed a career-best 18 kills on a .500 hitting percentage.

Eliza Konvicka led the Big Red with 19 kills on the day and seven digs.

Doga Ozalp earned her third double-double of the season with 43 assist and 12 digs to go along with three aces.

First Set (25-15 Cornell)

First point was earned by Cornell with a Camryn Carlo kill.

A joust at the net by Ozalp tied it up for the Big Red 6-6.

Cornell started up a 4-0 run with a block from Carlo and Konvicka followed by an ace from Ozalp and then kill from Carlo, 10-7 Cornell.

Three kills from Konvicka sent Harvard into their first timeout at 13-9.

Cornell poured on seven more points to with multiple kills from Konvicka, Parsons, and Haley Clark to force Harvard into second timeout, 20-13.

Block from Carlo and Konvicka brought it to match point before Cornell finished it off 25-15.

Cornell hit .536% in the first set.

Second Set (20-25 Harvard)

Cornell opened the second set with a 5-1 run.

Harvard responded with a 3-0 that was stopped with a Parsons kill, 7-4 Cornell.

The Crimson tied the set up at 12-12 before back-to-back kills from Konvicka and Parsons pulled the Big Red ahead by two.

Harvard utilized three Cornell errors to take the lead and push the Big Red into a timeout, 16-17.

Harvard pieced together another 4-0 run to pull ahead 18-23.

Despite two more kills from Konvicka and Parsons the Crimson take the second set 20-25.

Third Set (16-25 Harvard)

Parsons opened the set with her seventh kill of the game and a block with assistance from Ozalp to start up 2-0.

Ozalp added an ace to the board before Harvard goes on a 8-1 run, 8-12 Harvard.

Konvicka and Parsons added four kills within Harvard points.

Cornell couldn't come back from the deficit, Harvard wins 16-25.

Fourth Set (24-26 Harvard)

The beginning of the fourth set was back and forth with two back-to-back aces from Clark to tie it up 5-5.

The middle of the set contained eight tie-ups as the two teams traded points until Harvard produced a 4-0 run to pull ahead 12-16.

Two consecutive kills from Clark brought the set within two, 17-19.

The Crimson added three more points before Cornell started their battle back.

The Big Red added seven to charge back and tie up the game at 24-24. The run included three Parsons kills and three blocks from Carlo, Ozalp and Brooke Cooper.

Harvard would score the last two points on kills to end the set 24-26 and win the match 3-1.

Match Notes

• Mackenzie Parsons notched a career-best 18 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, the best on the team.
• Freshman Mackenzie Parsons is one of three hitters in the Ivy League with a hitting percentage over .400.
• With 43 assist and 12 digs, Doga Ozalp recorded her third double-double of the season.
• Konvicka has hit double-digit kills in 10 of 12 games.
• Cornell leads the Ivy in blocks per set (2.75) and aces (1.85)
• With seven blocks added to her total, Camryn Carlo sits at the top of the conference averaging 1.54 per set.

Up Next

Cornell will continue its road series at Yale Oct. 11 and Brown Oct.12 before hosting Penn and Princeton at Newman Arena.