It took the Cornell Rams one set to get going. But once they did, Grinnell wasn’t about to stop them.
Top-seeded Cornell charged past the second-seeded Pioneers for a 20-25, 25-9, 25-16, 25-19 victory in Saturday’s championship match of the Midwest Conference Volleyball Tournament inside the Small Sport Center.
The Rams celebrated their seventh MWC Tournament title since 2012 – all on their home court – and punched their ticket to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the eighth time in program history.
The Rams (20-11 overall) completed a perfect 8-0 home slate and an undefeated 10-0 season against MWC foes, one week after claiming their ninth consecutive regular-season crown.
Cornell finished off the Pioneers on the fourth match point in Set 4. Libero Sydney Meeker bumped a set to the outside for sophomore Ilah Perez-Johnson, who slammed home the winner for her match-high 14th kill of the day.
Perez-Johnson fueled a potent Cornell attack that hit .289 for the match and had five players register at least eight kills. Alissa McEndaffer and Rory Light tallied 13 kills apiece. Olivia Richards was terrific with 12 kills on .550 hitting. Grace Marti posted a strong .462 attack percentage and eight kills.
Freshman setter Clare Green, who eclipsed the 1,000-assist mark in Friday’s 3-0 semifinal win over Monmouth, added 45 more to her impressive season total against the Pioneers. She also had nine digs.
Marti contributed four blocks, heading a tough defensive effort that limited Grinnell’s MWC Player of the Year Kaylin Kuhn to 10 kills on .111 hitting. Grinnell, the MWC’s No. 1 hitting team coming in, struggled to hit just .118 against the Rams.
Meeker anchored the back row with a match-high 16 digs. Richards and Perez-Johnson both recorded double-doubles with 11 and 10 digs, respectively. The Rams finished with seven ace serves, three from senior Lindsey Frazier.
After dropping the opening set, Cornell quickly turned the tide with an 8-1 run to start Set 2, seven of the points coming off of Richards’ serve. The Rams used a 10-1 run to take control in Set 3, and never trailed in the decisive fourth set.
Earlier in the week, Cornell topped Monmouth in a 25-20, 25-12, 25-11 semifinal victory over inside the Small Sport Center Friday, Nov. 5.
Cornell (19-11) advances to the championship match at 1 p.m. Saturday to face second-seeded Grinnell (20-13) for the MWC’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Pioneers moved on with a 25-16, 20-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-11 comeback win over Illinois College.
The Rams will go after their seventh MWC Tournament crown and eighth NCAA bid against a Grinnell squad that won the league’s last contested tournament in 2019. Cornell beat the Pioneers, 3-1, in the regular-season meeting Oct. 27 in Grinnell.
Cornell clicked in all facets against the Fighting Scots (15-14), posting a hefty .346 hitting percentage and firing 11 ace serves to Monmouth’s two. The Rams nearly doubled up the visitors in total kills, 46-26.
Perez-Johnson and Light shared match-high honors with 13 kills apiece, both hitting over 340. The Rams showed their offensive balance, getting six kills each from Marti, Green and McEndaffer.
Green had an outstanding night, hitting .545 from her setter position with 33 assists, 10 digs and a pair of blocks. The freshman went over 1,000 assists for the season, the sixth Cornell player to achieve the feat.
Meeker led all players with 15 digs and went 14-of-14 from the service line. Light contributed five blocks.
Caitlin Babcock and Perez-Johnson headed the service game with three aces apiece. Richards added two aces. Perez-Johnson served out the final seven points of the night, which Light capped with the match-ending spike.
Rams named MWC Volleyball Tournament champs
November 11, 2021