MOUNT VERNON – In a rare February volleyball matchup between perennial powers, Cornell was two points better than visiting Wartburg in a 2-hour, 20-minute dandy Saturday afternoon inside the Small Sport Center.
Coach Jeff Meeker's Rams pushed through at the end and prevailed 19-17 in the decisive fifth set, capping a dramatic victory in the team's first competition since November 2019.
Cornell (1-0), eight-time defending regular-season champions out of the Midwest Conference, rallied to take tight wins in Set 2 (25-23) and 4 (25-22). The Knights (0-1), five-time defending American Rivers Conference Champions, won 25-18 in the opening set and 25-22 in the third.
The entertaining battle witnessed 32 total ties, including 13 in the final set during which neither team led by more than two points.
Cornell middle blocker Allison Eikenberry (SR/Neola, Iowa) enjoyed a spectacular start to her senior season, notching a match-high 22 kills on efficient .432 hitting. She had just three errors on 44 attack attempts and also led the Rams with six blocks.
The lead switched hands six times in the fifth set. Cornell was denied match point on three occasions before finishing off the Knights on back-to-back spikes from sophomore Rory Light (SO/Mount Vernon, Iowa) and Ilah Perez-Johnson (FR/Pleasant Valley, Iowa). Wartburg had match-point serve leading 17-16.
Perez-Johnson's match-winner was the 14th kill of the day for the impressive first-year player. Light recorded a solid .324 hitting percentage with 13 kills.
Senior all-American libero Sydney Meeker (SR/Mount Vernon, Iowa) finished with 28 digs and served three of Cornell's four aces. Danielle Amonica (SR/Las Vegas, Nevada) collected 50 assists and 10 digs. The Rams got 13 digs from Lindsey Frazier (JR/Ely, Iowa), 11 from freshman Summer Brand (FR/Mount Vernon, Iowa) and 10 from freshman Delaney Thomas (FR/Waterford, Wis.).
Alissa McEndaffer (JR/Fort Collins, Colo.) and Logan Ealy (SR/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) contributed seven and six kills, respectively.
The match statistics were as closely-contested as the final score. Cornell hit .225 and totaled 92 digs. Wartburg hit .232 with 96 digs.
Katie Foster turned in 43 digs to pace the Knights.
Coming up – The Rams play host to Dubuque at 7 p.m. Friday.
