ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – It was two up and two down for Cornell's volleyball team, which made a strong season debut Wednesday night with a pair of wins at the Augustana Triangular inside Carver PE Center.
 
The Rams swept past American Rivers Conference foe Central in the opening match 25-17, 25-13, 25-19. Cornell then took care of the host Vikings 25-16, 23-25, 25-19, 25-19.
 
Sophomore Ilah Perez-Johnson and junior Rory Light paced a balanced hitting attack with 23 and 21 kills respectively for the Rams, who are receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 Poll. Alissa McEndaffer totaled 14 kills for the night, while junior transfer Olivia Richards contributed 12 kills and 21 digs in her Cornell debut.
 
Freshman setter Clare Green had a fine start to her career with 61 assists in the two matches. All-American libero Sydney Meeker scooped a team-high 30 digs.
 
The Rams found their rhythm early against Central and finished the match with 10 ace serves – three each from Meeker and Richards – while posting a .293 attack percentage. McEndaffer netted a match-high 10 kills.
 
Green dished out 34 assists against Augustana, 16 going to Perez-Johnson who led all players in kills. Light converted 12 spikes and collected five total blocks in the match. Richards finished with eight kills and 16 digs. Delaney Thomas and Green served two aces apiece.
 
Cornell limited Augustana to .034 hitting.
 
The Rams are in action Saturday at the Grinnell Invitational, facing No. 17 Millikin at 11 a.m. and UW-Superior at 1 p.m.