DUBUQUE – Cornell's volleyball team showed its offensive balance and depth on opening night during Thursday's 25-20, 25-18, 26-24 sweep over the University of Dubuque at Stoltz Sports Center.
 
The Rams (1-0), receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Coaches' Poll, used a strong .289 hitting performance to notch the quality road win over the Spartans (0-1), who are among the top contenders in the American Rivers Conference.
 
Senior Rory Light played to her 2021 all-America form with a match-high 14 kills on .522 hitting. Freshmen Ella McLaughlin and Carly Puffer impressed in their collegiate debuts with nine and eight kills, respectively. Puffer recorded a .615 attack percent on 13 error-less swings.
 
McLaughlin contributed 13 digs, sharing team-high honors with Ilah Perez-Johnson who added seven kills. Newcomer Ella Becker scooped 12 digs in her first collegiate match.  
 
Sophomore Clare Green led all players with 33 assists. She served two aces, as did Caitlin Babcock and McLaughlin. The Rams finished with five solo blocks, three coming from Grace Marti.
 
McLaughlin's 6-0 service run got the Rams off and running early in Set 1, which was tied 16-16 before Cornell pulled away. Light smashed six kills in Set 2.
 
The Rams rallied from a 22-18 deficit in Set 3, and denied Dubuque of set point at 24-23. Cornell forged ahead 25-24 on back-to-back spikes from Light and Puffer. McLaughlin then capped her fine outing with a match-clinching ace.
 
Dubuque hit at a .162 clip and finished with 13 fewer kills than the Rams.
 
Coming up – Cornell travels to Grinnell Saturday for neutral-site matches against Marian at 11 a.m. and St. Catherine at 3 p.m.