Cornell volleyball played its final two games of the season this past weekend. On Friday, the Red faced off against the University of Pennsylvania followed by a match against Princeton on Saturday. After a hard-fought season, Cornell finishes with an overall record of 7-15 and 3-11 in the Ivy League.
Falling to Penn (7-15, 4-9) in three straight sets (25-20, 25-22, 25-20), the Red had a statistically well-played game, with it being neck-to-neck the entirety of the game.
The next night, Cornell was defeated by Princeton (16-6, 10-4) in the Red’s season finale. Even with an unfortunate loss, the Red was still able to put up a strong fight but ultimately was not able to keep up with the Tigers (15-25, 20-25, 22-25).
It was a hard season, and the team faced my obstacles along the way, but the Red never gave up on itself.
“The team never gave up hope throughout the entirety of the season, and we continued to work hard day in and day out,” said senior outside hitter Avery Hanan. “Many people stepped up at different times throughout the season, and that just shows how much talent we have on this team.”
After having no competition season last year, it was hard for the Red to get back into the swing of things this season.
“Taking a year off was harder than I expected. We hadn’t competed in two years and all the schools had such different teams than they did two years ago,” said junior Joanna Chang. “I think we underestimated some of them, which affected how we played.”
The chemistry between teammates is a key to succeed as a group, but a good portion of the team is underclassmen and had never experienced Ivy League competition until this season.
“Though this was a tough season, we learned a lot and we are ready to fix all the small things in order to be ready for next fall,” Chang said. “Our team is very young so we have a lot to work on. However, I have full confidence that we will be able to pull through for next year.”
With seniors Jillienne Bennett, Madison Baptiste, Avery Hanan and Casey Justus leaving, the Red will be losing a big part of its past identity.
“I will miss our seniors though because they had such a big impact on our team and it will be tough to lose them,” Chang said.
“This season was definitely one that we will never forget. This team showed so much strength in tackling whatever was thrown at us, whether it be COVID, injuries, or any other extraordinary circumstances, and I think that was one of the best things that we can take away from this season,” Hanan said.
After its final two games, the Red concluded its season seventh in the Ivy League ranking.