“I think we are definitely growing our connection and communication with each other. We have a lot of really talented freshmen who are stepping into pretty important roles,” said sophomore setter Mary Wolcott.
This past weekend, Cornell (4-5, 0-0 Ivy) took a trip to the frigid state of Michigan, where the squad took on the Eastern Michigan Eagles (7-6, 1-0 MAC) on Friday and the University of Michigan Wolverines (9-2, 0-0 Big Ten) in a two-day double header across Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
On Friday afternoon, the Red faced the Eagles and were victorious 3-1.
In the opening set, Cornell took advantage of three service aces early on to grab an 11-7 advantage and it felt as though the team would carry this momentum to a dominant finish.
Strong performance from the Eagles’ middle blockers led to multiple rejections however, keeping the Eastern Michigan squad in the match. Facing a 19-22 deficit, the Eagles once again relied on senior middle blocker Azra Eriç to pull off this upset.
In a 7-2 run to close out the set, Eriç garnered two blocks and one kill, while generating constant pressure on the Red’s front line. Eastern Michigan went on to steal the set 26-24.
Facing adversity, Cornell came out of the break with a higher sense of urgency. In an 8-8 start, freshman outside hitter Kiran Rio delivered two kills and a service ace, while senior middle blocker Ava Bogan made her presence felt on the front line with two kills.
Sensing the opportunity, the Red went to work and utilized a 6-0 run to take an eventual 15-11 lead from which it would never look back. Two kills from senior outside hitter Jaida Sione down the stretch ensured a 25-15 victory for Cornell.
The third set featured a dynamic performance from Sione and junior outside hitter Mackenzie Parsons. In the narrow 26-24 victory, the duo combined for 10 points from the front line and the service line.
In the final set, the Red unloaded a barrage of kills onto Eastern Michigan, taking an early 9-2 lead. Despite an admirable effort by the Eagles to cut an eventual 13 point deficit down to five, senior middle blocker Amrit Dhaliwal took matters into her own hands.
A beautifully-placed set by sophomore setter Mary Wolcott gave Dhaliwal enough space to drive a kill into Eastern Michigan’s chances of forcing a fifth set. A subsequent service ace by Wolcott ultimately gave Cornell a 25-18 victory.
Wolcott, who plays a relaxed brand of volleyball, has demonstrated her comfortable dominance through her facial expressions and emotes. These mannerisms resemble sports legends like Michael Jordan.
“I trust my teammates and my coaches so much that it gives me the physical ability to relax with my tongue out,” Wolcott said. “That’s my relaxed and focused face. No one plays [well] when they’re tight so being able to relax has really helped me a lot.”
Early Saturday and Sunday afternoon, the Red took on the Wolverines and was swept for a collective 0-6.
The first match featured few opportunities for Cornell to gain momentum. Despite holding just a one point deficit midway through the first set, the Wolverines’ relentless offense generated an 8-0 run to finish, stunning the Red with a 25-16 victory.
The second and third sets saw some bright spots for Cornell by way of Bogan, Parsons and Rio, but an inability to stop Michigan’s front line resulted in swift defeats of 12-25 and 14-25.
In the match, the Wolverines doubled the Red’s mark in kills, 46 to 23, while also outdigging the squad 42 to 30.
Encouragingly, junior outside hitter Haley Clark made her season debut in the final set of the matchup, recording an ace. Clark incurred a season-ending knee injury midway through the 2025 season and has been working tirelessly to return since then.
“Haley has always been that dependable player to have with you on the court, so to look back and see her next to me again was a really great feeling that I definitely missed,” said sophomore setter Mikayla Gray.
In the final match of the weekend, Cornell demonstrated more fight, pushing Michigan to the brink in the first two sets.
“I was really proud of how we showed up against Michigan and played in front of a Big Ten crowd,” said Gray. “Especially the second time we played them, I thought we came out with a lot of confidence and did a great job making adjustments from the first match.”
A 19-23 deficit with an upcoming serve gave the Red hope that it could steal the opening set, but a quick response by the Wolverines’ Ella Demetrician and Jenna Hanes gave Michigan the 25-19 win.
The subsequent set saw Cornell leave it all on the line. Numerous dives and long rallies pushed the Wolverines to a 21-21 tie. A back-and-forth bout saw a final kill by the aforementioned Demetrician, giving Michigan a narrow 25-22 victory.
Despite key flashes, Cornell dropped the final set 15-25, in major part due to an inability to generate any scoring runs.
“The second time going up against them, we knew to expect them to bounce a couple balls here and there,” Gray added. “But this time, we knew how to better set up our block to get more efficient touches, which worked extremely well. Our defense was able to pick up a lot more balls because of that.”
Over the weekend, the Red saw a standout performance from Sione, leading the team in kills generated, in both matches against Michigan while finishing with 31 kills across the three days.
“Jaida hit really well,” Wolcott said. “She really found ways to score [and] when we needed the block, she really adjusted to that. One of her focus points was passing, and she really stepped it up.”
Tomorrow, Cornell (4-5, 0-0 Ivy) will return home for the first time in three weeks to host Columbia University (6-3, 0-0 Ivy) in a matchup that opens Ivy League play. As both squads look to rebound from disappointing finishes to their respective 2025 seasons, be sure to tune into what will be a must-see game.
Coverage will be available on ESPN+.
