MOUNT VERNON – Cornell junior libero
Ella Becker was honored with the Midwest Conference Elite 20 Award for academic excellence prior to Friday night's semifinal volleyball match against Illinois College.
Then, Becker and the top-seeded Rams displayed their excellence on the court with a 25-12, 25-19, 25-14 sweep over the Lady Blues before a large crowd inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
Cornell (18-11) earned a spot in Saturday's MWC Tournament championship match, where the Rams face No. 2 seed Grinnell (21-9) at 1 p.m. for the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Pioneers advanced with a 3-1 semifinal win over Monmouth.
The Rams improved to 20-2 in MWC Tournament matches since 2012. They'll go after their fourth consecutive tournament crown.
Cornell extended its overall winning streak to 11 matches, which includes a 3-1 home win over Grinnell Nov. 6.
Fifth-year outside hitter
Ilah Perez-Johnson became Cornell's all-time leader for ace serves with 222. She fired three aces against the Lady Blues to pass Hannah Boehmer (2007-10) for No. 1 on the career list.
Perez-Johnson also posted a match-high 12 kills for a strong Cornell attack that hit .269 on the night.
Kiana Manson was an efficient .450 hitting with 10 kills, while
Ally Olmstead slammed seven.
MWC Player of the Year
Clare Green handed out 27 assists.
Nia Howard (14) and Becker (10) both reached double-digit digs. Olmstead and
Carly Puffer had five blocks apiece.
The Lady Blues (14-15) were held to 25 total kills on .047 hitting.
Elite 20 Award
Becker collected Cornell's fifth MWC Elite 20 Award in volleyball, joining past recipients Allison Eikenberry (2019) and Jillian Schulte (2016-18).
The award recognizes the student-athlete with the highest grade point average among participants in the sport's culminating championship or tournament event.
Becker, named First Team All-MWC earlier this week, is pursuing a double major in psychological sciences and kinesiology-exercise science. She's the 14th Ram to receive the MWC Elite 20 Award since its inception in 2015-16.
