MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's volleyball team did its part Friday night with an 18-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-13 victory over Ripon in the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
Meanwhile in Decorah, Lawrence took care of business by sweeping Luther.
That sets the stage for a Cornell-Lawrence showdown Saturday afternoon for the Midwest Conference championship. First serve is 1 p.m. in Mount Vernon.
Cornell and Lawrence carry 8-0 MWC marks into the anticipated regular-season finale. Saturday's winner earns hosting rights for the MWC Tournament Semifinals and Final Nov. 13 and 14.
The Rams celebrated Friday's Senior Night with a pre-match salute to
Nia Howard,
Kensie Staats,
Emma Weber,
Brylee Bruce and
Amiya Smallwood. About 90 minutes later, the senior class notched its 74th victory – and 32nd straight in MWC play – over four years.
But this one did not come easy for the Rams (13-8), who spotted the opening set to upset-minded Ripon (7-17 overall, 2-6 MWC).
Cornell came to life in Set 2 thanks to a spark from first-year
Helen Simpson, who smashed eight kills on nine swings. Simpson finished the match with a collegiate-best 14 kills and an efficient .478 attack percentage.
Trailing 19-17 in Set 3, the Rams pulled ahead to stay with a 5-0 spurt that saw
Ally Olmstead and
Ashlin Nottestad put away two kills apiece. Cornell used a 15-5 match-ending run to finish off the Red Hawks in Set 4.
The Rams made up for a tough serving night (16 errors) by pounding a season-high 63 kills on .346 hitting. Ripon had 36 kills for the match.
Olmstead led all players with 15 kills on .414 hitting. Nottestad was the third Ram to reach double figures with 13 kills.
Mia Tubbs and
Selia Stein pitched in eight apiece.
Howard and Staats played in their 109th and 104th collegiate match, respectively. Howard, who ranks No. 3 all-time in aces, bumped her career total to 203 with two more Friday. She also led the team with 25 assists. Staats posted a team-best 14 digs.
Grace Tverberg contributed 23 assists.
Hannah Cantwell had 13 digs.
