Cornell College concluded a challenging 0-3 weekend against Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schools at the Dig Panici Classic, hosted by UW-Whitewater.
The Rams dropped three-set matches to UW Oshkosh– 25-19, 25-13, 25-17 – and then 11th-ranked WIAC’s first-place UW-Eau Claire – 25-18, 25-17, 27-25. Cornell lost 3-0 to ninth-ranked UW-Whitewater Friday night.
Cornell heads home with a 15-11 overall record heading into the final week of the regular season.
Sophomore Ilah Perez-Johnson led Cornell’s attack with 18 total kills in Saturday’s matches. She was just short of a double-double with nine kills and 11 digs against UW-Oshkosh.
UW-Oshkosh (16-10) accounted for 12.5 blocks and held the Rams to .039 hitting. Olivia Richards fired three ace serves and Sydney Meeker collected 14 digs.
Clare Green set 28 assists and had six digs against UW-Eau Claire (25-3). Rory Light posted four blocks and Meeker contributed 10 digs.
The UW-Eau Claire match was tied 22 times. The Blugolds used a 6-1 spurt to close Set 1. Cornell had set point serve in Set 3 before surrendering the final three points.
In Friday’s match, Cornell lost in scores of 25-9, 25-22, 25-16 to UW-Whitewater.
Meeker led all players with 14 digs and went 9-of-9 from the service line. Setter Green had 18 assists, seven going to McEndaffer. Perez-Johnson added six kills and seven digs. Light totaled three blocks.
The Rams hung with the home team late in Set 2, getting within 24-22 on a kill by Richards. UW-Whitewater scored the winning point on a Cornell error and continued momentum with a 10-3 run to start Set 3.
Earlier in the week, Cornell swept Beloit in 25-14, 25-11, 25-13 matches.
Green set 32 assists for a balanced Cornell attack that hit .314 on the night and more than doubled Beloit (5-15, 1-6 MWC) in total kills, 40-17.
Light blasted a match-high 10 kills on .421 hitting. McEndaffer recorded eight kills, Marti seven and Perez-Johnson and Richards six apiece.
Marti posted an efficient .636 attack percentage on 11 errorless swings.
Meeker corralled 14 digs and served two of the team’s seven aces. Light and Green both had four blocks.
The Rams did not allow an ace serve and held the Buccaneers to .012 hitting.