ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell women's volleyball put up a spirited fight but ultimately fell to Princeton in straight sets (25–13, 32–30, 25–18) on Saturday evening at Newman Arena.

The Big Red (14–8, 9–3 Ivy) rallied from a slow start to push the Tigers to the brink in a thrilling second set that featured 10 ties and three lead changes before Princeton (14–6, 9–3 Ivy) held on for the narrow win.

Set-by-Set Recap
Princeton came out strong in the opening frame, hitting .394 to Cornell's .027 to take the set 25–13. The Big Red answered in the second with renewed energy, led by efficient offense and tough defense, forcing extended rallies and erasing multiple set points before narrowly dropping the marathon frame, 32–30. The Tigers closed out the match in the third with a 25–18 win behind a .273 team hitting percentage overall.

Big Red Leaders
Sophomore Mackenzie Parsons paced Cornell with 13 kills on .458 hitting and added two service aces and two blocks for a team-best 16 points. Senior Nicole Mallus tallied six kills, 12 digs, and a solo block, while setter Doga Ozalp dished out 20 assists and posted 11 digs for a double-double. Defensively, libero Sara Pomar anchored the back row with a team-high 14 digs.

At the net, Ava Bogan contributed four blocks, while Eliza Konvicka added four block assists and six digs.

Senior Night Celebration
Despite the loss, the evening ended on a high note as Cornell honored its five seniors—Eliza Konvicka, Meghan Gaffigan, Doga Ozalp, Joy Liu, and Nicole Mallus—all of whom saw action in their final regular-season home match. The group has been instrumental in the program's success on and off the court, helping shape a competitive and unified Big Red squad.

Cornell will wrap up the regular season next weekend on the road against Yale and Brown.