Cornell Volleyball Takes Down Penn, Loses Momentum to Princeton

This previous weekend, volleyball (5-11, 3-4 Ivy) hit the street to battle Penn (2-15, 0-7 Ivy) in Philadelphia after which went to face Princeton (9-7, 6-2 Ivy) in New Jersey. Volleyball took down Penn in 4 units, however dropped a 4 setter to Princeton.

Within the two video games, sophomore exterior hitters Eliza Konvicka and Nicole Mallus gathered 35 kills, 11 blocks, 22 kills and 5 blocks, respectively. Within the sport towards Princeton, freshman exterior hitter Jaida Sione had 10 kills and two blocks.

“We had a number of good performs from our offensive gamers, and we blocked a ton of balls,” mentioned head coach Trudy Vande Berg. “Eliza [Konvicka], Nicole [Mallus] and Jaida [Sione] all did nice jobs hitting from the pins or center.”

The Purple began off stable within the first set towards Penn, buying and selling factors with the Quakers and finally deadlocking the rating at 10 apiece. Penn would go on a 3-0 run that firmly gave them the lead. Penn would proceed to chip away at Cornell’s defenses till the sport was at set level, 24-17 to Penn’s benefit.

“I feel they got here out a bit of passive. We had been letting them rating the simple balls,” Vande Berg mentioned.

The Purple would use the Quakers’ service error to ship freshman libero Sarita Pomar again for the serve. The freshman got here in clutch and despatched the Purple on an 8-0 run fueled by three aces from the Puerto Rico native. Cornell would go on to take the primary set, 26-24.

“That comeback was loopy,” Vande Berg mentioned. “I used to be sitting on that bench like whoa, that is insane. We began doing all of the issues we should always’ve been doing from the beginning.”

Utilizing the joys of the primary set as gasoline, Cornell received off to a scorching begin within the second, stretching the result in 16-10. The Purple would proceed to have the lead till a 5-0 run by the Quakers tied the rating at 21-21. The 2 groups would proceed to trade factors forwards and backwards, till a service error by the Purple gave Penn its first and solely set of the match.

Within the third set, Cornell as soon as once more began sturdy, however didn’t relinquish its momentum to Penn this time. The Quakers would lower its deficit to as shut as two, however the Purple pulled forward to take the set, 25-18.

“Within the second set we got here out a bit of passive and ended up dropping the momentum. However the third set, we had been like screw that and got here out sturdy from the start,” Vande Berg mentioned.

Cornell would go on to win the fourth set, highlighted by a match-high 15 kills and a .481 hitting share in comparison with the Quakers 4 kills and -.100 hitting share.

The match towards Priencton began neck-and-neck, with each groups attempting to tug forward. Cornell would pull forward to a 10-6 benefit because of a 4-0 run, however the Tigers would claw its method again, successful 5 consecutive factors to take the lead. Regardless of a Cornell timeout, Princeton wouldn’t break its vitality and clinched the set, 26-24.

The second set was just like the primary set because it had each groups jockeying for positioning. This time, nevertheless, the Purple would pull forward with a 14-12 lead and by no means give it again. Cornell gained 4 out of the final 5 factors to take the second set, 25-19.

With each groups not giving an inch, the third set was a nail-biter. Princeton would take an early 6-4 lead, and the Purple would solely path by a degree or two till a block by Mallus gave Cornell the lead, 20-19. However the magic disappeared, as a 6-0 run gave the Tigers its second set.

“On the finish of the third set, I received a yellow card, and I form of misplaced my mood,” Vand Berg mentioned. “Within the Ivy League, we don’t have the problem evaluation system, which I feel is a disservice to our athletes. Regardless, I mustn’t have misplaced my mood, it simply made us lose management.”

The fourth set got here to a brisk finish after a 6-0 run gave Princeton the victory, 25-13.

“We simply let it [the yellow card] roll into the following set and began attempting to do issues exterior of ourselves. However, general, I feel we performed a very good match and did a number of nice issues,” Vande Berg mentioned.

With the conclusion of the sport towards Princeton, the Purple has performed each faculty within the Ivy League. It has wins over Columbia, Harvard and Penn and losses to Yale, Dartmouth, Brown and Princeton.

Vande Berg is conscious of what must be carried out to have success within the crew’s upcoming video games.

“We’ve got to dig extra balls and simply be extra disciplined on the courtroom. There are undoubtedly areas we’re prioritizing for the second half of the season, however I feel we’re in an okay place to get that fourth spot within the convention event,” Vande Berg mentioned.

The Purple returns dwelling subsequent Saturday to tackle Columbia in Newman Area at 2 p.m. The sport might be streamed dwell on ESPN+.