VESTAL, N.Y. — Cornell women's volleyball wrapped up play at the Binghamton Invitational Saturday with back to back wins, rallying back to beat Temple in five sets before sweeping a three-set victory over New Haven.
Cornell 3, Temple 2
Cornell opened Saturday's action by battling back from a pair of one-set deficits against Temple, eventually earning a 22-25, 25-14, 21-25, 25-21, 15-11 victory. The Big Red dropped the opening and third sets before responding with a strong fourth set and controlling the decisive fifth.
Top Performers
Mackenzie Parsons led Cornell with 13 kills while hitting .344, adding six digs and three total blocks. Jaida Sione also recorded 13 kills while hitting .333, while Ellery Williamson added nine kills and a team-best 13 digs. Ava Bogan contributed 11 kills and a match-high 12 total blocks. Mary Wolcott directed the Cornell offense with 48 assists and added four digs, while [Sarita Pomar] recorded a team-high 19 digs.
Cornell hit .275 as a team and finished with 59 kills, 60 digs and 17 total blocks.
Set 1 – Temple 25, Cornell 22
Temple opened the match with a 4-1 advantage before Cornell quickly settled in. The Big Red answered with four straight points to take a 5-4 lead, with Kiran Rio and Jaida Sione contributing kills during the early run.
Cornell continued to create separation, moving ahead 8-6 before extending its advantage to 14-7. Sione accounted for two kills during the stretch, while Amrit Dhaliwal and Mary Wolcott also contributed points.
Temple gradually worked its way back into the set, cutting Cornell's lead to 16-13 before scoring three straight points to pull even at 16-16.
The Owls eventually took their first lead since the early stages, moving ahead 20-19. Cornell answered with a kill from Mackenzie Parsons and a Temple service error to regain a 22-20 advantage.
Temple then closed the set with five straight points, including a pair of late kills and a service ace, to take the opening frame, 25-22.
Set 2 – Cornell 25, Temple 14
Cornell responded emphatically in the second set, opening with a 7-1 advantage.
The Big Red continued to control the frame behind a balanced offensive attack. Williamson and Bogan contributed kills during the early run, while Parsons added another point as Cornell extended its lead to 10-5.
Temple trimmed the deficit to 11-8, but Cornell quickly regained momentum. Kills from Sione, Parsons and Ahrens helped the Big Red push its advantage to 16-10.
Cornell then scored four straight points to move ahead 20-11. Williamson and Sione each recorded kills during the stretch, while Trinidy Tien also contributed offensively.
The Big Red continued to pull away late, reaching set point at 24-14 before closing the frame on the next point to even the match at one set apiece.
Set 3 – Temple 25, Cornell 21
Temple came out quickly in the third set, building a 3-0 advantage before Cornell answered with a pair of points.
The Owls maintained a narrow lead through the early stages, but Cornell steadily worked its way back. A Tien block helped the Big Red pull even at 5-5 before Temple regained a one-point advantage.
Cornell took its first lead at 7-6 after a Williamson kill, but Temple answered with a three-point stretch to move ahead 9-7.
The teams continued trading points before Temple created its first significant separation, taking a 13-10 lead. Cornell responded with four straight points to move ahead 14-13. A Williamson kill and a pair of Temple errors helped fuel the run.
Temple then answered with four consecutive points to regain an 18-14 advantage. Cornell continued to battle, with kills from Ahrens, Bogan and Sione helping the Big Red remain within striking distance.
Temple held a 22-17 lead late before Cornell scored two of the next three points. The Owls reached set point at 24-20, and although Cornell answered with a Parsons kill, Temple closed the frame on the next point to take a 2-1 match lead.
Set 4 – Cornell 25, Temple 21
Facing a 2-1 deficit, Cornell responded with another strong fourth set.
The Big Red took an early 1-0 lead on a kill from Sophia Ahrens, but Temple answered with three straight points. Cornell remained within striking distance before tying the set at 5-5 on a Sydney Zanca attack error by Temple.
The teams continued trading points through the middle stages, with Temple holding a 9-8 advantage before the Big Red began to take control.
Cornell scored four straight points to move ahead 12-11, then continued its run to take a 14-11 lead. Parsons and Zanca contributed during the stretch, while Bogan added another kill to help the Big Red maintain its advantage.
Temple pulled within 14-13, but Cornell responded with another four-point run to extend its lead to 18-13.
The Owls continued to battle and eventually cut the deficit to 20-18, but Cornell answered with three of the next four points. A block involving
Set 5 – Cornell 15, Temple 11
The deciding set began with Temple taking a 1-0 lead before Cornell answered with four straight points to move ahead 4-1.
Bogan and Parsons provided kills during the early run, while Tien contributed a service ace as Cornell built its largest lead of the set at 9-3.
Temple responded with a four-point stretch to cut the deficit to 9-7, but Cornell regained control with consecutive points from Sione and Pomar to extend its lead to 11-7.
The Owls again battled back, scoring three straight points to make it 13-10 and forcing Cornell to withstand another late push.
Cornell reached match point at 14-10 after a Temple attack error. The Owls answered with a point, but Mary Wolcott closed out the match on the next rally, giving the Big Red a 15-11 victory in the fifth set and a 3-2 match win.
The victory marked Cornell's first of two on Saturday after the Big Red dropped a five-set decision to Binghamton on Friday. Cornell then closed the invitational with a three-set sweep of New Haven to finish the weekend 2-1 and improve to 3-3 on the season.
Cornell 3, New Haven 0
Cornell closed out the Binghamton Invitational on a strong note Saturday afternoon, sweeping New Haven, 25-20, 25-20, 25-23, at the West Gym.
The Big Red hit .235 as a team and held New Haven to a .107 hitting percentage. Cornell also finished with nine total blocks and seven service aces in the three-set victory.
Top Performers
Mackenzie Parsons led Cornell with 12 kills while hitting .400 and added five total blocks. Jaida Sione followed with 11 kills on .455 hitting, while Ellery Williamson recorded nine kills and seven digs. Mary Wolcott directed the offense with 27 assists, while Sarita Pomar contributed 13 digs. Ava Bogan added five kills and four total blocks.
Set 1 – Cornell 25, New Haven 20
Cornell took an early 3-1 lead before New Haven answered with a four-point run to move in front, 5-4. The Big Red regained control midway through the set, using a four-point run to turn a 6-6 tie into a 10-6 advantage.
New Haven battled back to even the score at 10-10, then eventually took a 14-10 lead. Cornell responded with another run, scoring five straight points to pull ahead 15-14.
The teams traded points from there before Cornell created separation late. A pair of kills from Sione helped the Big Red take a 20-18 lead, and Cornell continued to build its advantage before closing out the set, 25-20.
Set 2 – Cornell 25, New Haven 20
Cornell again established an early advantage, scoring five of the first six points to take a 5-2 lead. The Big Red extended the margin to 11-3 behind a strong serving run from Kiran Rio.
New Haven responded with four straight points to cut the deficit to 11-7, but Cornell maintained its advantage throughout the middle stages of the set.
New Haven eventually pulled within one at 16-15, but Cornell answered with a three-point stretch to regain momentum. The Big Red pushed its lead to 23-19 before finishing the set on consecutive points for a 25-20 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
Set 3 – Cornell 25, New Haven 23
The third set was the closest of the afternoon, featuring 11 ties and two lead changes. Cornell held an early 5-3 advantage before New Haven pulled even at 5-5.
The teams continued to trade points throughout the middle of the set, with Cornell holding a narrow 11-9 advantage before New Haven answered to take a 13-11 lead.
Cornell responded with a four-point run, including back-to-back service aces from Rio, to move ahead 16-11. New Haven battled back, eventually tying the set at 18-18 and again at 20-20.
The Big Red regained the lead at 23-21, but New Haven answered to make it 23-22. A New Haven service error gave Cornell set point at 24-22, and after the Chargers pulled within one, another New Haven service error closed out the set and the match, 25-23.
All-Tournament Honors:
Ava Bogan, Senior, Middle Blocker
Sara Pomar, Senior, Libero
Up Next
The Cornell volleyball team now turns their attention to game play in Michigan next weekend where they will face Eastern Michigan and University of Michigan.
