ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell volleyball returns home for the final time in 2024 to host Brown and Yale. The Big Red have a chance to claim a spot in the Ivy League Tournament for the first time since the tournament began in 2022.
GAME INFO
Cornell vs. Brown
Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.
Live Stats || Watch
Cornell vs. Yale
Saturday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m.
Live Stats || Watch
FAB FIVE SENIORS
Cornell will honor five seniors, Brooke Cooper, Sammie Engel, Jackie Baker, Camryn Carlo and Megan Bickel after Saturday' match.
Brooke Cooper has been a member of the Big Red for four years. She has appeared in 87 sets as an outside hitter. The Illinois native has notched 147 career kills on a .134 percentage while adding 20 blocks. Cooper earned a career-high 15 kills vs Temple in 2022.
Sammie Engel made her collegiate debut in 2021 against Penn. Engel has since appeared in 65 sets with 73 kills and 30 blocks. In her sophomore season, the middle blocker notched 111 points and took home four double-digit point finishes. She recorded a career-high eight aces at Kent St. in 2022.
Pennsylvania native Jackie Baker has appeared in 249 sets as a defensive specialist. The senior has 670 total digs with 125 so far this season. She has also aided the Big Red with 137 assists and 71 aces. In her freshman season, she led the team in digs with 226 (3.65 per set, No. 6 in the Ivy League), while her 16 service aces and 68 assists ranked third. Baker achieved a career-high 20 digs vs Penn in 2022.
Camryn Carlo has been a dominate force at the net for four straight seasons. The middle blocker has totaled 256 blocks and 388 kills over 253 sets. Carlo is currently ninth in blocks per set (1.05) and career hitting percentage (.294) in Cornell's record books. She is ranked 21st nationally in blocks per set and first in the conference, averaging 1.38 per set going into her final two games of the season. The Florida native recorded a career-best 11 block in a five-set match against Dartmouth this season.
Megan Bickel has appeared in 240 sets in the back row. Bickel has recorded 528 digs (2.20 dig/set) over four years, 104 this season. She has also added 83 assists and 44 aces in her time on the Big Red. In her freshman season, Bickel recorded 23 digs verse Dartmouth for her career-high mark.
CORNELL'S NUMBERS
Cornell is leading the conference in blocks per set (2.54) and opp hitting percentage (.178).
As for the individuals, Carlo is ranked 21st nationally in blocks per set and first in the conference, averaging 1.38 per set. She is one block away from her 100th block of the season.
Mackenzie Parsons is ranked 20th nationally in hitting percentage (.402). She is one of two Ivy League players with a hitting percentage above .400, (Laurece Abraham, Yale).
RECORD BOOK UPDATE
Eliza Konvicka recorded her 836th kill in the game against Penn passing Ashely Stover's 829 (2000-03) and earning the eighth spot in Cornell career kills.
Carlo is ninth with a career hitting percentage of .294 on 936 attempts.
Doga Ozalp is moving up in career assist per set averaging 9.14 over 166 set. She currently sits in sixth.
Sarita Pomar moved into fifth place in career service aces per set (0.42) over the weekend.
RECORDS TO WATCH
Career Records
8th Konvicka - Career Kills - 836 --- 7th Jenn Drais (1990-93) - 847
3rd Konvicka - Career Points Per Set - 4.15 --- 2nd Becky Merchant (1987-89) - 4.30
4th Konvicka - Career Kills Per Set - 3.47 --- 3rd Katie Marshall (2007) - 3.51
9th Konvicka - Total Career Points - 1000.5 --- 8th Shelley Zierhut (1991-93) - 1018.0
9th Carlo - Career Hitting Percentage - .294 --- 8th Rachel D'Epagnier (2010-13) - .297
t9th Carlo - Career Blocks Per Set - 1.05 --- 8th Sydney Moore (2021-23) - 1.10
Carlo - Career Solo Blocks - 52 --- 10th Rachel D'Epagnier (2010-13) - 65
Carlo - Career Total Blocks - 265.0 --- 10th Jenna Phelps (2016-19) - 296
6th Ozalp - Career Assists Per Set - 9.14 --- 5th Amy Gordon (2004-07) - 9.16
5th Pomar - Career Service Aces Per Set - 0.42 --- 4th Michele Scherer (1987-88) - 0.47
Season Records
5th Konvicka - Season Kill Per Set - 3.87 --- 6th Alex Gross (1990) - 4.00
6th Konvicka - Season Points Per Set - 4.63 --- 5th Robin Moore (1999) - 4.81
7th Carlo - Season Blocks Per Set - 1.37 --- 6th Heather Young (2004) - 1.38
2nd Parsons - Season Attack Percentage - .402 --- 1st Joanna Weiss (2005) - .406
SCOUTING BROWN
Brown is 6-6 in the Ivy and is in the hunt to make the Ivy League Tournament. Earlier in the season Cornell swept Brown 3-0 at the Pizzitola. It was the first win against the Bears since 2019 at home.
Two Bears earned Ivy League weekly awards this past week after beating Harvard and Dartmouth. Mariia Sidorova was named Co-Player of the Week and Julia Kakkis was named Rookie of the Week. Sidorova led Brown with 4.33 kills per set (39) and averaged 2.56 digs per set (23). Sidorova started the weekend with 14 kills and 11 digs in a four-set win over Harvard. Against Dartmouth, she hit .345, had 25 kills and had 12 digs for her sixth-straight double-double. Kakkis finished the weekend averaging 10.44 assists per set and 2.78 digs per set. She also finished the weekend with six kills and five blocks.
Three Bears finished the Harvard match with double figure kills as Sidorova led Brown with 14. Hannah Flannery finished the match with 11 and Beau Vanderlaan picked up 10. Jessie Golden picked up her 19th-career 20-dig game leading Brown's defense with 20 and Sidorova added 11 digs for fourth-straight and ninth-career double-double.
Four players ended the Dartmouth match with double-digit kills, led by Sidorova, who had 25, one shy of her career high. It was Sidorova's third 20-kill game of her career with all of them coming this season. Sophia Wolfson had a career-high 12 kills and Flannery and Vanderlaan also had 12 kills. On defense, the Bears finished with 14 blocks, led by a career-high 10 from Wolfson.
SCOUTING YALE
The Bulldogs enter the weekend 11-1 in the Ivy League and can clinch a share of the title with one victory this weekend. Earlier in the season, Cornell lost to the Bulldogs in three sets in New Haven.
Betsy Goodenow was named Ivy League Co-Player of the Week. She averaged 5.08 points, 4.33 kills, 3.00 digs, and 1.00 block per set in Yale's victories over Dartmouth and Harvard.
The Bulldogs hit .330 as a team in their sweep of Dartmouth. Goodenow had a team-high 12 kills and added nine digs. Against Harvard, Yale hit .377 with 51 kills on 114 swings with only eight errors. Gigi Barr had a team-high 15 kills and hit .667. Arya Jue and Mila Yarich led the way with 10 digs apiece.
Yale is leading the Ivy in total points per set (17.52), team hitting percentage (.278), assists per set (12.47) and kills per set (14.14). Individually, Laurece Abraham leads in hitting percentage (.428), Carly Diehl leads in assists per set (10.61) and Cara Shultz leas in aces per set (0.46).
PRINCETON RECAP
Cornell fell to Princeton in three sets on Friday night at Dillon Gymnasium.
Kohanihokuao Misipeka had a career-high 11 kills on a .444 hitting percentage, two blocks and two digs. Parsons also reached double-digit kills with 10 of her own on a .350 hitting percentage, three digs and two blocks.
Pomar took care of the defensive efforts with 11 digs and three service aces. Her third consecutive game with double-digit digs.
Konvicka surpassed Emily Wemhoff '17 to take the ninth slot in career kills (820).
PENN RECAP
Cornell rallied after dropping the first set at Penn finishing strong with a 3-1 triumph on Saturday evening at the Palestra.
The team put itself in a position to qualify for its first Ivy League Tournament appearance since the tournament was added in 2022.
Parsons had 18 kills on 31 swings just a single error, hitting .548 as Cornell posted a .296 hitting percentage as a team in the win. Parsons also added six blocks. Konvicka was credited with 16 kills, eight digs and six block assists, while Carlo, Jaida Sione and Misipeka each had seven kills.
Ozalp posted 43 assists and nine digs, with Pomar and Bickel each posted 10 digs.
UP NEXT
Cornell eyes a spot into the Ivy League Tournament on Nov. 22-24. The tournament location will be determined after this weekend's games.
