MOUNT VERNON – Backed by an enthusiastic home crowd, Cornell began its postseason trail Friday night with a decisive 25-19, 25-12, 25-13 sweep over Illinois College in the semifinals of the Midwest Conference Volleyball Tournament inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
 
The top-seeded Rams (21-7) now look to parlay an MWC regular-season championship with another tournament title Saturday afternoon.
 
Cornell advances to the championship match to face No. 2 seed Lake Forest (16-12) at 1 p.m. The winner receives the MWC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
The Rams are back in the title match for the ninth time since 2012. Lake Forest moved on with a 25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 25-21 semifinal win over Grinnell. The Foresters are seeking their first NCAA bid since 2003.
 
Freshman Ella McLaughlin hammered a spike through Illinois College's defense for the initial point and the Lady Blues (12-18) were playing catchup virtually the rest of the match. The Rams blasted 43 total kills, served nine aces and converted nine team blocks in the one-sided win.
 
Senior star Rory Light led Cornell's potent attack with 15 kills and six blocks, both match-highs. She hit at a .355-percent clip. McLaughlin delivered nine kills, Ilah Perez-Johnson eight and Carly Puffer seven.
 
Sophomore Clare Green distributed 38 assists for a Cornell offense that hit .252. The Lady Blues were limited to 20 kills on .023 hitting.
 
Caitlin Babcock went 19-of-19 from the service line with three aces. Perez-Johnson had two aces and a team-high 14 digs. Ella Becker added 10 digs.
 
The Rams trailed for only one point during the 66-minute contest. After taking Set 1, the Rams raced to a 7-1 lead in Set 2 and jumped ahead 14-4 in Set 3.