The last time the Red and the Bears (5-13, 1-7) met, Cornell came out on top with the support of alumnae celebrating 40 years of Big Red volleyball. Junior outside hitter Kelly Marble led the attack for the Red, recording 20 kills, 12 digs and one block. Freshman outside hitter Breanna Wong also chipped in with 15 kills of her own.The Bears are led at the net by Maddie Lord and Amanda Nickel, who have 182 and 98 kills respectively so far this season. Leading the squad in blocking is Taylor Bantle with .7 blocks per set.The Red did not fare as well in its first match against the Bulldogs (12-5, 8-0), falling in three sets on Sept. 28 at Newman Arena. Wong and Marble were once again active at the net, combining for 16 kills, and junior middle blocker Rachel D’Epagnier led the team with a .214 hitting percentage.The Bulldogs have dominated Ivy play more than halfway through the season, and are undefeated with six conference games left to play. The Bulldogs have five starters with triple digit kills, including freshman Jesse Ebner with 123 and sophomore Mollie Rogers with 168. Senior Haley Wessels leads the team in hitting percentage at .327.The Red ranks first in the Ivy League in service aces with 1.52 per set, and Marble is also first in the conference individually with .4 aces per set. Already one win over its total from last season, the Red has six Ivy games left to play and sits in sixth place in the conference, two wins behind Columbia.
Original Author: Scott Chiusano