MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's historic Midwest Conference volleyball winning streak was snapped Saturday afternoon in a heavyweight battle with Lawrence for the MWC Tournament title.
The top-seeded Rams met their match against a potent attack from No. 2 seed Lawrence and fell 25-22, 25-20 and 25-16 inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
The Vikings (19-10) secured the program's first-ever berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Cornell concluded another fine campaign at 16-10, which included its 14th consecutive MWC regular-season championship.
Cornell carried an extraordinary 60-match winning streak against MWC foes into Saturday's title tilt. The Rams' last MWC loss came in the semifinals of the 2019 tournament against Grinnell.
Lawrence accumulated 44 kills and posted a strong .295 attack percentage. MWC Player of the Year
Ally Olmstead totaled nine kills to pace Cornell, which hit .196 with 31 kills.
The Rams led 19-18 in the opening set after a spike by first-year
Helen Simpson. Lawrence turned the tide with three straight points and held on to take early control.
A tight Set 2 witnessed seven lead changes and 13 ties, including a deadlock at 13-13. The Vikings gained separation with a 4-0 run, and then scored the final three points after Cornell pulled within 22-20.
Cornell was even at 10-10 in Set 3 before the Vikings powered through with a 15-6 spurt to end it. Lawrence snapped a 16-match series losing skid to the Rams, who beat the Vikings in last year's tournament final, 3-1.
Cornell's
Ashlin Nottestad finished with eight kills. Sophomore
Selia Stein had a match-high five blocks. Setter
Grace Tverberg added 14 assists and two aces.
Libero
Kensie Staats wrapped up a stellar senior season with 12 digs. She became the 14th member of Cornell's 1,000-dig club, finishing with 1,008.
Audrey Weier and Bella Van Lannen paced the Vikings with 14 and 13 kills, respectively.
Cornell is now 24-3 in MWC Tournament matches since rejoining the league in 2012.
