Cornell volleyball easily defeated Brown, 3-0, on the road over the weekend, but struggled against Yale, losing 3-1 and snapping an 11-game winning streak.
The games marked the team’s sixth and seventh in Ivy League play, and the halfway point in the 14-game gauntlet of Ancient Eight contests.
After a weekend split in Providence and New Haven, the second half of league play will determine the 2019 champion, as Cornell, Princeton and Yale are all vying for the No. 1 spot with identical 6-1 records.
Head coach Trudy Vande Berg said Brown was a tough opponent because of the Bears’ different focuses.
“[Brown focuses on] ball control and defense [and] they serve really tough,” Vande Berg said. “So it’s hard to play [them].”
Vande Berg said teams like Yale are often easier to play against because they play more similarly to Cornell.
The Red began its game against the Bulldogs fired up, crushing Yale in the first set, 25-18. But Yale made some adjustments and came back to beat Cornell in the next three sets, refusing to be defeated on their home court.
“[Yale] made a couple adjustments and we got a little tentative and we never really pulled out of it,” Vande Berg said. “They were a bit more disciplined in certain plays.”
Cornell opens up the second half of Ivy League play at Columbia this weekend. The Red crushed the Lions, 3-0, in late September.
After returning from New York City, the Red will host Princeton and Penn on Nov. 1 and 2.