ALBANY, N.Y. — The Cornell women's volleyball team battled hard in its 2025 season opener but ultimately fell to UAlbany, 3–1, on Friday night at the UAlbany Invitational. The Big Red showed flashes of dominance, winning the second set and keeping each frame within reach before the Great Danes closed it out (21–25, 25–19, 20–25, 23–25).

Despite being without senior outside/right-side hitter Eliza Konvicka, one of the team's core players, Cornell delivered a competitive performance. Senior Nicole Mallus paced the attack with a match-high 18 kills, while sophomore Mackenzie Parsons added 14 kills to fuel the offense. Junior libero Sarita Pomar anchored the defense, collecting 26 digs.

The Big Red outperformed UAlbany in several statistical categories, finishing with more kills (57–49), assists (53–46), service aces (10–4), and blocks (7.0–2.0). However, UAlbany's efficiency on the attack (.271 hitting percentage to Cornell's .219) proved to be the difference in the close sets.

Cornell continues play at the UAlbany Invitational on Saturday with two matches — first against Syracuse at 11 a.m. [Watch Live] | [Live Stats] and then Canisius at 3 p.m. [Watch Live] | [Live Stats].