VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Cornell volleyball team fell to Purdue Fort Wayne in five sets Friday morning during the first game of the Popcorn Classic.

Freshman Mackenzie Parsons led the Big Red's hitting percentage with 14 kills on .476 along with adding four blocks. Eliza Konvicka totaled 17 kills while adding nine digs and four blocks.

Junior setter Doga Ozalp recorded 39 assist with five digs and one ace.

Freshman outside hitter Kohanihokuao Misipeka contributed 15 assist, 10 digs and nine kills for the Big Red.

First Set (25-22 Purdue Fort Wayne)

The first point of the game was earned by the Big Red with a kill from Jaida Sione.

The Mastodons led early going up 5-3 and then 7-5. The Big Red responded with a 5-0 run initiated by a Parsons kill.

A set of errors forced Cornell into timeout at 16-14. Coming out of the timeout, a kill from Konvicka snapped the Mastodons rally.

The Big Red chipped away at the lead all the way to set point 24-18, followed by a four-point Cornell run as Purdue Fort Wayne captured the first set 25-22.

Second Set (25-21 Purdue Fort Wayne)

After a back and forth open to set two, Purdue Fort Wayne utilized a three-point run to claim a 12-10 edge.

Double kills from Ava Bogan and Parsons tied it back up at 12-12.

Cornell capitalized on PFW errors to make the score 14-16 and send the Mastodons to a timeout.

Purdue Fort Wayne responded with 10-2 run to set point, Cornell then scored three straight points with blocks from Haley Clark and Bogan but ultimately fell 25-21.

Third Set (23-25 Cornell)

With the set tied at 9-9, Cornell went on a 4-0 run forcing Purdue Fort Wayne into a timeout.

The Big Red got rolling with a five-point run capped with an ace from Ozalp to put Cornell up 9-12.

After that the points battle continued until the very end with a kill by Misipeka for match point and a PFW service error sealed the set for Cornell 23-25.

Fourth Set (25-20 Cornell)

After being tied at 5-5, blocks from Parson and Sione spark a 7-2 run to put the Big Red up 6-12.

The Big Red held their lead at five points as the two sides exchanged points throughout the middle of the set before two-straight points brought Cornell to match point.

A kill from Parsons closed the fourth frame for the Big Red forcing a fifth set.

Fifth Set (15-11 Purdue Fort Wayne)

In the short final match, the score was knotted up six times.

Kills from Konvicka and Clark brought Big Red within one point before the Mastodons claim the match with a 5-2 run.

Match Notes

• Eliza Konvicka recorded her second-straight double-digit kills with a season high 17 kills.
• Mackenzie Parsons tripled her single game kills after recording 14 in the match while leading the team with a .476 hitting percentage.
• Haley Clark posted 10 kills, eight digs and two blocks.
• Kohanihokuao Misipeka notched 15 assist, ten digs and nine kills.
• With the loss, Purdue Fort Wayne now leads the series 2-1.

Up Next

The Big Red continues at the Popcorn Classic at 7 p.m. against Valparaiso.