The Cornell volleyball team spiked victories in three match-ups over the course of last week, besting Lake Forest, Ripon and Illinois College.
In Saturday’s match-up against Lake Forest, Cornell had one of it’s best hitting matches of the season, blasting 42 kills in a 25-11, 25-19, 25-18 Midwest Conference victory.
Cornell remained tied with Grinnell for first place with three MWC matches to go.
Cornell posted an outstanding .376 team attack percentage, misfiring only seven times on 93 swings. Rory Light led the effort with 12 kills on .458 hitting, to go along with a team-best five blocks.
Ilah Perez-Johnson recorded 10 kills, eight digs and a pair of aces. Alissa McEndaffer and Olivia Richards chipped in six kills apiece, with Richards adding three blocks.
Setter Clare Green dished 30 assists and had eight digs. Sydney Meeker led all players with 15 digs and also fired two aces.
On Friday, the volleyball crew easily handled Ripon in a 25-20, 25-16, 25-19 sweep at Ripon.
Green distributed 33 assists for a Cornell offense that hit .197 on the night. Light and McEndaffer had near-identical stat lines with 11 kills and only two attack errors apiece. Olivia Richards posted a strong .417 attack percentage, killing five of her 12 attempts.
The Rams were tough at the net with nine team blocks, four coming from Light. Perez-Johnson and Tendall Weigand each had three block assists.
Earlier in the week, Cornell gave up a single set to Illinois College, but still earned the road win in a 25-21, 24-26, 25-17, 25-18 road win over Illinois College at Sherman Gymnasium.
The Rams (10-6 overall) remained atop the Midwest Conference standings at 3-0 with Grinnell as the lone unbeatens in league play.
Cornell finished off the Lady Blues (6-10, 2-2 MWC) in Set 4 with its 10th service ace of the night. The clinching point came from Perez-Johnson, who enjoyed another big match with 19 kills, 14 digs and three aces.
Frazier led Cornell’s strong service game with five aces and also provided 15 digs. Meeker scooped a team-high 21 digs. Green handed out 43 assists and completed her double-double with 11 digs.
Light recorded eight blocks and nine kills.
Coming up: The Rams travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., for four matches at the Molton Invitational over the upcoming Block Break. Cornell faces 20th-ranked UC Santa Cruz and DeSales Friday, Oct. 15, followed by Saturday, Oct. 16 matches against Nebraska Wesleyan and fifth-ranked Colorado College.
Rams VB earns three wins on week
October 14, 2021