Cornell’s volleyball team had an 11-match winning streak snapped in Saturday’s regular-season finale, falling 5-25, 25-15, 25-12 and 25-21 to Nebraska Wesleyan at Augustana’s Pumpkin Bash.
In a battle of 20-win teams, the 24th-ranked Rams surrendered only five points in a dominant Set 1 win in which they hit .538 with 14 kills on 26 errorless swings.
Nebraska Wesleyan, which finished second in the American Rivers Conference, responded in a big way by taking the final three sets. It was Cornell’s first loss since Sept. 30 (Wartburg).
Junior Kiana Manson continued her strong play with a team-high 13 kills for the Rams. Ilah Perez-Johnson delivered another double-double with 12 kills and a team-best 10 digs. Grace Marti and Carly Puffer had seven kills apiece.
Setter Clare Green collected four aces, nine digs and 33 assists. The junior raised her career assists total to 2,996, the third-highest total in program history.
Puffer provided three aces and three blocks. Kensie Staats had eight digs.
Earlier in the week, Cornell had a 25-16, 25-15, 25-7 sweep over Knox.
Winners of 11 straight matches overall, the Rams also achieved the program’s 11th 20-win season under head coach Jeff Meeker.
The Rams had 17 players see action in the team’s 10th sweep of the season, which took only 1 hour, 3 minutes to complete.
Ilah Perez-Johnson returned to Cornell’s lineup and delivered match highs of 11 kills and 18 digs, while going 17-of-17 in serve receive. Kiana Manson had a strong .476 hitting night with 10 kills. Grace Marti added nine kills. Carly Puffer pitched in seven kills and four blocks.
Clare Green and Nia Howard combined for 34 assists for a Cornell attack that nearly tripled Knox in total kills, 42-15. Howard served three aces. Ella Becker had 11 digs.
The Rams also had a 27-25, 21-25, 26-24, 25-20 victory over in-state rival Grinnell.
Cornell has now won 67 of its last 68 MWC regular-season contests. The lone blemish during the span was a 2019 road loss to Grinnell, which tried to play spoiler Wednesday night on its home floor.
Playing without all-American outside hitter Ilah Perez-Johnson, the Rams had newcomer Kiana Manson step up with a season-high 15 kills while Grace Marti delivered 14 in a tight match that witnessed 38 ties and 18 lead changes.
Cornell recorded 10 teams blocks, including a double from Carly Puffer and Clare Green that produced the winning point in Set 1. Puffer, Marti and Tendall Weigand finished the night with five assisted blocks apiece.
The Pioneers won the second set and led 19-16 in the third. Following a Cornell timeout, the Rams reeled off four consecutive points and hung on for a 26-24 win in Set 3.
The Rams used a 7-1 spurt to pull away in Set 4. Cornell scored its final two points on Manson spikes.
Green’s 39 assists moved her past Jillian Schulte (2,936 assists, 2015-18) for No. 3 on Cornell’s career list. The junior setter also had 15 digs and three aces during a fine all-around night.
Ella Becker scooped 27 digs – one shy of her career high – while Kensie Staats added 19. Ella McLaughlin provided nine kills.