MOUNT VERNON – Grace Marti's 16th kill put a fitting cap on Friday's 25-20, 25-12, 25-14 Senior Night sweep over Monmouth in Midwest Conference volleyball action inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
 
The 24th-ranked Rams received on-court contributions from all five members of their senior class, a group that has won nearly 70 percent of its matches since arriving on campus.
 
Cornell (12-6 overall, 2-0 MWC) cruised to its third consecutive 3-0 sweep, beating a Monmouth squad (8-11 overall, 2-2 MWC) that had won seven of its last nine matches going in.
 
Marti, a fifth-year middle blocker, finished her stellar night hitting .433 and two kills shy of her season high. Senior teammate Ilah Perez-Johnson notched her 12th double-double of the campaign with 11 kills and 11 digs.
 
Seniors Caitlin Babcock, Tendall Weigand and Mia Loughran also played a helping hand in Cornell's 18th consecutive MWC regular-season victory.
 
Carly Puffer made an impactful return to Cornell's lineup, hitting .571 with eight kills on 14 errorless swings. Clare Green set 42 assists for a Cornell attack that accumulated 50 kills. The Fighting Scots managed only 19 kills in the quick 1-hour, 6-minute contest.
 
The Rams blasted 17 kills in the opening set, including five from Marti. First-year Kensie Staats fired seven unanswered points to start Set 2. The Rams broke away in the third set with a 15-5 scoring spurt.   
 
Libero Ella Becker led all players with 15 digs and went 11-for-11 from the service line. The Rams connected for nine ace serves, three from Nia Howard.
 
Coming up – The Rams play host to Illinois College (11-10 overall, 3-0 MWC) in a matchup of league unbeatens at 1 p.m. Saturday for Parents' Day.