MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's volleyball team treated the Halloween crowd and costumed student section to a decisive 25-21, 25-11, 25-18 sweep over Midwest Conference challenger Illinois College Friday night inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
 
Cornell's 38th consecutive MWC regular-season victory moved the first-place Rams (14-10 overall) to 6-0 in league play with two matches remaining. Grinnell, which hosts the Rams in Wednesday's finale, is alone in second place at 5-1.
 
Winners of 18 straight sets in MWC play, the Rams handled an Illinois College team (9-19 overall, 4-2 MWC) that beat Grinnell just two weeks ago.
 
The Rams were really rolling at the end of Set 2, sparked by a flashy sequence of three consecutive digs from Sully Downey that led to a set-clinching kill by Grace Tverberg. Downey also enjoyed a perfect 15-of-15 serving night with an ace.
 
First-year Hannah Cantwell paced Cornell's diverse attack with seven kills on efficient .583 hitting. Ashlin Nottestad also had seven kills, Mia Tubbs six and Ally Olmstead five.
 
The Rams planted 10 ace serves, four off the hand of Cantwell. Nia Howard and Kensie Staats fired two aces apiece.
 
Ella Becker posted a team-high 13 digs. MWC blocks leader Selia Stein added five assisted stuffs, including the match winner with Tubbs. Howard and Tverberg combined for 23 assists.     
 
The Rams totaled nine team blocks and held the Lady Blues to .024 hitting for the match.
 
Coming up – The Rams play host to Knox (3-24 overall, 1-5 MWC) at 1 p.m. Saturday.