Volleyball, which has been a varsity sport at Cornell for 50 years, is one of the university’s most decorated women’s programs. Since hitting the hardwood in 1972, the Big Red has posted a 792-596-7 record, with three Ivy League tournament titles, seven first-place finishes during the regular season, six New York state crowns and a pair of Eastern championships. The Big Red made history in 1993 when it became the first Ivy League volleyball team to participate in the NCAA championship tournament and returned in 2005 and 2006.
It all began when Sue Nattrass guided the Big Red to a 2-2 slate back in 1972. After dropping the first two matches, the spikers downed Colgate in five games and swept Eisenhower College in three. Debbie Nelson took over the program the following year, as the Big Red went 7-5 and placed sixth at the New York state tournament. Andrea Dutcher took over in 1974 and coached for 14 years, with the Big Red posting 346 victories against only 158 losses with seven ties. In just her third season, Dutcher guided the spikers to a 24-11 season and second-place finishes at the New York state, EAIAW and Ivy League tournaments.
In 1981, Cornell posted a school record 47 wins with only six losses. The following year, Dutcher led the squad to its first of four straight New York state tournament championships, while posting a 40-8 campaign. That team also won its first EAIAW championship. The 1983 team went 41-4 to conclude a string of three straight 40-win campaigns. Dutcher led her squad to two more New York state titles before ushering in Ivy League play in 1986 — the first year for round robin competition in the league.
In 1987, Dutcher led the Big Red to a 21-12 overall record and a 5-2 record in the Ivy. Becky Merchant '90 snagged All-Ivy first team honors, leading Cornell with 405 kills and was third in digs (189). Tere Duran '89 was also named honorable mention All-Ivy, leading the team with 205 digs.
In 1988, Jolene Nagel was hired to replace Dutcher, who retired from the coaching ranks. Nagel led the Big Red to a 25-9 campaign and a New York state title. The following year, Cornell went 25-8 on the year, won its second consecutive New York state crown and went 7-0 against Ivy competition. In Nagel’s final year, the Big Red won its first Ivy League championship and qualified for the National Invitational Volleyball Championships. Nagel finished her Cornell career with an 85-40 slate.
In 1992, Merja Connolly took over the program and guided the Red to consecutive Ivy League championships. Her 1992 squad went 19-11 and participated in the NIVC, while the 1993 team went 17-10 and earned a berth to the NCAA championships, losing to Nebraska in the first round. Connelly finished her Cornell career with a 36-21 overall record.
Sue Medley took over the reins in 1994 and guided the squad to a 20-10 mark — its first 20-win campaign since 1989 — and a first-place finish in the Ivy regular season in just her second year. Medley ended her tenure during the 1998 season and was replaced by Christie (Jackson) Roes. Roes would go 9-14 in her first season as head coach in 1999.
Roes guided the Big Red to a runner-up finish in the 2000 Ivy League tournament, helped develop 2000 Ivy League Player of the Year Robin Moore and directed 15 All-Ivy League players. She became the third-winningest coach in school history and recorded a pair of 20-win campaigns in her five full seasons with a league regular season runner-up finish in 2003. That team won 14 straight matches en route to a 21-4 record.
Deitre Collins-Parker, one of the greatest players in NCAA history as a middle blocker at Hawaii, became the program’s eighth head coach in June 2004. Collins-Parker wasted no time in adding her name to the list of coaches who have guided successful squads on the East Hill, leading Cornell to at least a share of the Ivy League title in each of her first three seasons and guided the Big Red to two NCAA tournaments.
The 2004 team finished 17-9 overall and 10-4 in Ivy play, finishing in a four-way tie for the league championship. It marked the first time since 1993 that Cornell earned at least a share of the crown. A four-team playoff was held to determine which school would represent the Ivy League in the NCAA tournament, and the Big Red fought Yale for every point in a 3-2 loss.
The Big Red went a step further in 2005, advancing to the NCAA tournament after securing the outright Ivy title with a 19-6 overall record and a 12-2 Ivy League mark. Two of the school’s major career records also fell during the year, as Ivy League Player of the year Elizabeth Bishop '07 set the kills record, while Kelly Kramer '06 claimed the digs mark. Cornell would fall in the first round of the NCAA tournament in straight sets to LIU-Brooklyn.
The 2006 squad made its second-straight NCAA tournament appearance after winning the Ivy title for the third year in a row. Going 18-9 for the season, the Big Red went 12-2 among league opponents. Bishop was named the Ivy League player of the year for the second year in a row, and Joanna Weiss '07 joined her, claiming first-team honors. Freshman libero Megan Mushovic also had a standout year earning a spot on the second team. The Big Red battled hard in the first round of the NCAA tournament, falling to Hofstra in a five-set thriller
The Big Red began a rebuilding year in 2007, posting a 9-16 overall record with a fifth-place Ivy finish. Mushovic earned first-team All-Ivy honors and led the nation in digs in a match with a school-record 50 against Harvard. The sophomore also broke school records for digs per game (6.16) and digs in a season (598). Junior Emily Borman joined Mushovic on the All-Ivy team, earning second-team honors.
The Big Red volleyball team closed out its 2008 season tied for third place in the Ivy League with a 9-5 record and was 10-15 overall for the season. Cornell capped off the season with Mushovic earning first-team All-Ivy honors, while Borman was named second-team and Hilary Holland '09 was honorable mention. Mushovic averaged 5.60 digs per set, good for fifth in the nation, while her career total of 1,612 established a new Cornell record.
Prior to the 2009 season, former Collins-Parker assistant Sarah Bernson, who was instrumental in recruiting and coaching for three Ivy championship teams, was elevated to the head coaching position. The Big Red would go 6-19 in Bernson's first year as head coach.
In her final season as head coach, Sarah Bernson's squad finished the 2011 season with a 5-21 record overall, achieving the program's 700th victory in the process. Following the campaign, Melissa Batie-Smoose was named head coach.
In her first campaign with the Big Red, Batie-Smoose led the squad to 9-16 overall and 5-9 in the Ivy League. Both win totals were the highest since 2008. Highlights of the season for Cornell include victories in three of their final four games, including snapping an 11-match losing streak to Princeton. The team finished sixth overall in the Ivy League standings, its best finish since also finishing in sixth place during the 2009 season. As a team, Cornell led the league in service aces (151) and ranked in the top half of the conference in opponent hitting percentage and blocks.
The Big Red finished the 2013 season with a record of 8-16 overall and 4-10 in the Ivy League. Following the season, Rachel D'Epagnier '14 and Breanna Wong were named second-team All-Ivy League, while Natasha Rowland was an honorable mention selection. The three selections were the most for the Big Red volleyball program since the 2008 season.
Cornell finished the 2014 season with a record of 6-18 overall and a mark of 3-11 in the Ivy League. Senior libero Natasha Rowland '15 was named the Ivy League Defensive Player Of The Year. Established in the 2012 season, Rowland became the first-ever Big Red to be named the Defensive Player of the Year. She also became Cornell's first major Ivy award winner in volleyball since Liz Bishop '06 was named Player of the Year in 2006. For her efforts, Rowland was also named second-team All Ivy, her second consecutive Ivy accolade after an honorable mention selection in 2013. Rowland finished her career ranking third in Cornell history with 1,342 digs, as well as placing third with a career average of 3.94 digs per set.
Prior to the 2015 season, Trudy Vande Berg is named the head coach of the Big Red. In her first year at the helm, Vande Berg brought in a recruiting class that was ranked among the top 90 in the nation, earning a high honorable mention distinction from PrepVolleyball.com. Despite boasting one of the youngest rosters in the Ivy League, the Big Red opened the season with a 2-0 record for the first time since the 2007 campaign before finishing with a mark of 6-18 overall (2-12 Ivy). Despite the team’s youth, Cornell was extremely competitive in each and every outing and of the 41 sets the Big Red lost on the year, one-third (13) came by just two points.
The Big Red finished the 2016 season with a 12-12 record overall, posting six more victories than it did the year prior, the best single-season turnaround since the 2003 team went 21-4 following a 14-12 performance in 2002. With a record of 6-8 in the Ivy League, the Big Red finished fifth in the conference standings for its highest finish since the 2008 team placed third. Following the season, Alyssa Phelps '17 was named second-team All Ivy, while Macey Wilson '17, Kit McCarty '18 and Carla Sganderlla '19 were named honorable mention. All four players were first-time honorees by the league, and it was the first time the Big Red placed four players on the various All-Ivy teams since 2006.
Vande Berg was voted the 2017 Ivy League Coach of the Year by her peers after leading the Big Red to its best season in more than a decade. Cornell finished the year with a 12-11 record overall and a mark of 8-6 in the Ivy League, tied with Harvard for third place in the conference standings. The eight Ivy League wins were the most for Cornell since the 2006 season, which was also the last time the Big Red finished in third place in the conference. The team posted a 9-1 record in Newman Arena, the most home wins in a season since 2006, and the best winning percentage since the 2005 squad was a perfect 12-0 in Ithaca. Under Vande Berg's guidance, Cornell lead the Ivy League in digs per set and ranked in the top half of the conference in opponent hitting percentage (second), assists (second), kills (second), blocks (third) and service aces (third). In addition to Vande Berg, Kiley McPeek '18 (first-team), Jenna Phelps '20 (second-team), and Kit McCarty (honorable mention) were also named to the All-Ivy team. McPeek was also named Academic All-Ivy.
The 2018 season was the second consecutive season in a row that the Big Red placed third in the Ivy League standings with a record of 14-10 overall and 9-5 in the Ivy League. The back-to-back third place finishes were the best consecutive seasons by Cornell since the program won three straight titles following a second place finish from 2003 to 2006, and the nine conference victories were the most for the Big Red since the 2008 campaign. Following the season, Cornell placed four players – juniors Jenna Phelps, Samanta Arenas, and Lily Barber, as well as freshman Jillienne Bennett – on the 2018 Volleyball All-Ivy teams. Phelps, Arenas and Bennett were chosen to the second team, while Barber was selected honorable mention. In addition, sophomore Zoe Chamness was named to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District Volleyball First Team. She was the Big Red's first selection since Hilary Holland in 2008.
The Big Red's constant climb continued in 2019, as the team put together its best season since 2006. For the third straight year, Cornell finished third in the Ivy League with a 17-6 overall record and an 8-4 mark in conference play. The team's 17 wins marked the most since 2006 when the team won 18 matches, and the Big Red went on an 11-match win streak over the middle portion of the season. The last time Cornell stacked that many wins was 2003. Following the season, four Big Red student-athletes earned All-Ivy honors, highlighted by sophomore Jillienne Bennett's first-team selection. Sophomore Madison Baptiste and seniors Lily Barber and Jada Stackhouse all earned second-team All-Ivy accolades. Stackhouse didn't stop there, however, also being named Academic All-Ivy.
In 2021, following the season that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jillienne Bennett '22 was named to her third All-Ivy League team in four years. Teammate Casey Justus '22 was recognized as well, earning a spot on the All-Ivy second team.
Joanna Chang '23 was a bright spot for the Big Red in 2022, earning All-Ivy second team. Chang was second on the team in kills (192) and points (216.5). Cornell went 6-17 overall and 4-10 in the Ivy, good for a tie with Harvard for fifth place.
Sophomore Eliza Konvicka was the headliner for Cornell in 2023, earning an All-Ivy second team nod after leading the conference in kills (305) and points (369.5). Konvicka's 305 successful attacks also made her the first Big Red athlete to have 300 or more in a season since Breanna Wong in 2013. The Big Red went 7-16 overall and 5-9 in the Ivy, finishing sixth in the final conference standings.
The Big Red finished the season with a 14-10 record, the best season since 2019 and earned their first trip to the Ivy League Tournament. Cornell also earned Coaching Staff of the Year, Rookie of the Year honors for
Mackenzie Parsons, two First Team All Ivy nominations (
Eliza Konvicka and Parsons) and an All Ivy Honorable Mention for
Doga Ozalp.
