October 18, 2004

Volleyball Splits Weekend

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Despite opening the weekend strong with a sweep against Brown (5-10, 2-2 Ivy), the women”s volleyball team (12-6, 4-2 Ivy) left its games with mixed emotions after it failed to pick up a win in a close match against Yale (8-5, 3-2 Ivy) on Saturday. The Red”s match against the Bulldogs went five games before Yale was able to take advantage of Cornell”s inconsistencies and grab a 15-13 win, sealing the match. Even in its sweep on Friday against the Bears, the Red struggled a bit, eking out wins by very slim margins.

‘I think we were very inconsistent in the Yale match and the scores show it,’ said head coach Deitre Collins. ‘It shouldn”t have been a five-game match, [but] they”re a good team, and that”s why they”ve upset some other teams in the conference as well.’

On Friday, the Red came out somewhat flat, but was still able to garner three close wins against the Bears, 30-23, 30-28, and 30-26. Junior Rachel Adomat led the charge with the first double-double of her career, picking up 12 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Liz Bishop continued to be the Red”s premier player, leading the squad with 17 kills. Brown”s Rikki Baldwin and Elvina Kung played well, but the Red as a team was able to outshine the Bears. Cornell out-hit Brown .279-.151 and out-blocked the Bears 10-4.

‘I think we played O.K. against Brown — well enough to win,’ Collins said.

On Saturday, the Red faced Yale, which has been a bit of an upstart in the conference. Cornell played a rollercoaster match, winning two of the five total games in the match by significant 11 and 16 point margins, and then losing by close margins in the other three games. Inconsistent play hurt Cornell tremendously, and the Elis were able to take advantage. Four Bulldogs posted double-doubles, including Shannon Farrell, Jacqueline Becker, Jana Freeman, and Kali Nelson. Becker had a particularly outstanding game with eight kills, 56 assists, and 10 digs for a .727 hitting percentage.

‘When you play well one game and not the next, that”s just focus,’ Collins said.

Nonetheless, the Red had a few highlights, which Collins was quick to point out.

‘Kelly Kramer played some unbelievable defense, and defense definitely kept us in that match,’ Collins explained. ‘[In addition], Liz [Bishop] is continuing to be steady, and, considering that a lot of teams are focusing on her, I think she”s done a good job.’

The Red”s next match will be tomorrow against Syracuse in a break from Ivy play. Cornell resumes its Ivy League schedule this weekend against Princeton and Penn.

‘We want to play well against Syracuse, but Ivy League is certainly what we”re concerned about,’ Collins said. ‘It”s our goal that we need to get better every day.

‘We need to use our momentum from Syracuse to carry us into the weekend,’ she finished.

Archived article by Mike Pandolfini
Sun Staff Writer