MOUNT VERNON – The Rams came away with a split against two Top 25 nationally-ranked opponents during Saturday's Cornell Volleyball Quadrangular inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
 
Playing without senior star Rory Light, Cornell stepped up to the task with an impressive 25-13, 25-22, 25-17 opening sweep over No. 21-rated Illinois Wesleyan. The Rams then got a crack at defending national champion and 11th-ranked UW-Eau Claire and fell in four sets, 25-18, 25-17, 20-25 and 25-20.
 
Coe (15-3), which is receiving national votes, finished as the only unbeaten team Saturday at 2-0. The Rams (10-5) and UW-Eau Claire (13-4) both finished 1-1, while Illinois Wesleyan (10-6) went 0-2.
 
Senior middle blocker Grace Marti represented Cornell on the all-tournament team. She accounted for 21 kills and eight blocks in two matches. Marti hit .346 with 12 kills and five blocks against Illinois Wesleyan.
 
The Rams outhit Illinois Wesleyan, .242 to .093, and totaled nine team blocks. Clare Green set 31 assists, 13 going to Ella McLaughlin. Ella Becker and Olivia Richards had 13 and 11 digs, respectively.
 
Ilah Perez-Johnson turned in a big double-double with 17 digs and 15 kills in the four-set loss to UW-Eau Claire. Becker scooped 21 digs and served two aces. Green handed out 39 assists.
 
Marti added nine kills, McLaughlin eight and Carly Puffer seven.    
 
Coming up – The Rams get a rematch with rival Coe at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Mount Vernon. The Kohawks won the first meeting in early September, 3-0.