MOUNT VERNON – It is easier said than done. Yet the Rams did it again.
Cornell's volleyball team achieved its fifth consecutive undefeated run through the Midwest Conference, stamped by Saturday's hard-fought 25-18, 16-25, 25-19, 25-23 victory over talented No. 2 seed Lawrence in the championship match of the MWC Tournament inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
The top-seeded Rams (19-10) captured their 11th MWC Tournament title in the last 13 contested Championships. They earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament, which begins with regional play Nov. 20-22.
With one of its youngest lineups in years, Cornell returns to nationals for the 12th time in program history, all under head coach
Jeff Meeker.
Pairings for the 64-team national tournament will be revealed at 12 p.m. (Central time) Nov. 17 on NCAA.com.
The 13-time reigning MWC regular-season champions finished 10-0 against league foes this fall, dropping only three sets along the way. Two of the set losses came against Lawrence (23-11), including Set 2 Saturday which evened the title match at 1-1.
The Rams regained momentum in the third set, thanks to seven kills on 10 swings from impressive first-year
Ashlin Nottestad. She put Cornell ahead 2-1 with the set-ending kill.
Cornell raced to a 10-3 advantage in Set 4, although the Vikings surged back to take the lead at 15-14.
Kensie Staats served three consecutive points to put the Rams back ahead, and later
Ally Olmstead's kill made the score 24-21.
The Vikings denied Cornell match point twice. But on the third attempt and the score 24-23, Cornell's
Selia Stein and
Grace Tverberg converted a double block that sent the Rams into another championship on-court celebration.
Nottestad, Olmstead and
Hannah Cantwell accounted for 13 kills apiece to pace Cornell's .257 hitting day. Olmstead posted an exceptional .520 attack percentage on 25 errorless attempts. Cantwell completed a double-double with 11 digs and also fired a team-best three aces.
Nia Howard and Tverberg handed out 21 and 20 assists, respectively. Stein notched six blocks, followed by
Mia Tubbs and Olmstead with four apiece.
Hazel Cook led the Vikings with 17 kills and 10 digs.
