MOUNT VERNON – It was smooth sailing Saturday afternoon for Cornell's volleyball team, which wrapped up its fourth consecutive undefeated Midwest Conference regular season with a 25-8, 25-10, 25-10 sweep of Knox inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
 
The surging Rams (17-11 overall, 8-0 MWC) needed only 52 minutes to notch their 10th straight victory. The team dropped only three total sets in league play.
 
This is the 10th time Cornell has finished unbeaten in the MWC regular season since rejoining the league in 2012.
 
The 12-time defending MWC champions will be the host and No. 1 seed at next weekend's MWC Tournament. Cornell faces No. 4 seed Illinois College in a semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday. Grinnell and Monmouth meet in Friday's 4:30 p.m. semifinal.
 
All 17 Rams in uniform played a part in the dominant win over Knox (3-22 overall, 2-6 MWC). Cornell posted a .304 attack percentage, whistled 14 ace serves and limited the Prairie Fire to just six kills.
 
Nia Howard got Cornell off and running, serving nine straight points during the Rams' 10-0 spurt to start the match. Howard (12) and Clare Green (15) combined for 27 assists.
 
Junior Carly Puffer paced Cornell's attack with 12 kills on .450 hitting. She also led the team with four blocks. Ilah Perez-Johnson and Ally Olmstead contributed six kills apiece, while Kiana Manson hit .444 with five kills.
 
Cornell's strong service game featured three aces each from Kensie Staats, Perez-Johnson and Puffer. Green and Mia Tubbs had two aces apiece.