Cornell’s volleyball team is headed back to the national tournament, and the Rams need not go further than their own gym this week.
For the first time in program history, Cornell has been selected as the host site for the NCAA Division III Volleyball Regional Nov. 16-18 inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
The eight-team regional features four quarterfinal matches Thursday, two semifinals Friday and the championship Saturday. Complete pairings of the 64-team tournament field can be found at 2023 NCAA Volleyball Bracket.
Coach Jeff Meeker’s 25th-ranked Rams (22-7) are seeded No. 4 and open play against Millikin (22-11) in a quarterfinal Thursday. The other quarterfinal in the top half of the bracket pits fifth-ranked Northwestern (29-4) against Edgewood (23-10).
In other quarterfinal action Thursday, ninth-ranked Wash U (23-9) plays St. Olaf (21-9), while sixth-ranked UW-Whitewater (26-4) faces Coe (21-11).
The region champion advances to the NCAA Elite 8 held Nov. 29-Dec. 2 at Roberts Pavilion in Claremont, Calif.
The Rams are NCAA bound for the 10th time, all since 2011 under Meeker. Cornell earned the MWC’s automatic bid with a 29-27, 25-17, 25-21 sweep of Illinois College in Saturday’s championship match of the Midwest Conference Tournament.
Cornell claimed its 11th consecutive MWC regular-season title with an 8-0 mark. The Rams are 12-2 in home matches this season.
Ranked as high as No. 14 nationally this season, the Rams are 2-9 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches. The team dropped a 3-1 regional quarterfinal to UW-Whitewater last year in St. Paul, Minn. Cornell reached the Sweet 16 in 2014.
Cornell owns wins over three nationally-rated opponents this season, including a 3-2 home victory Sept. 9 over the region’s No. 1 seed in Northwestern.
The Rams are 3-1 against this week’s regional field. Along with the Northwestern win, Cornell beat rival Coe twice and lost a four-set match to UW-Whitewater.
The Rams roll into the tournament having won 13 of their last 14 matches. The team’s lone blemish since Sept. 30 was a 3-1 neutral-site loss to Nebraska Wesleyan on Nov. 4.
Cornell fields an experienced squad that includes seven members who played in the 2022 NCAA Regional with fifth-year Grace Marti, seniors Ilah Perez-Johnson, Caitlin Babcock, junior Clare Green and sophomores Ella McLaughlin, Ella Becker and Carly Puffer.
Marti, Perez-Johnson, Babcock and Green will play in their third consecutive NCAA Tournament.
Cornell’s lineup features five all-MWC performers, led by first-teamers Perez-Johnson and Green. Perez-Johnson, who has amassed over 1,000 career kills and digs, was voted the MWC Player of the Year. Green ranks third on Cornell’s all-time list with 3,062 assists.
Marti (2.62 kps), Becker (4.0 dps) and junior Kiana Manson (2.64 kps) earned second team all-MWC honors.
Millikin, making its 10th NCAA appearance as an at-large qualifier, finished runner-up in the CCIW with a 7-1 mark. The Big Blue fell 3-2 to Carthage in the CCIW semifinals.
Cornell and Millikin last met early in the 2021 season, with the Big Blue taking a 3-1 neutral-site win.
Cornell selected as host for NCAA Volleyball Regional Nov. 16-18
November 16, 2023