WHITEWATER, Wis. – There wasn't much that separated Cornell's volleyball team from No. 20 nationally-ranked UW-Whitewater Friday night in Russell Arena.
The host Warhawks simply came up with the key points late in each set and fought past Cornell by scores of 25-20, 31-29 and 25-23 in a tightly-contested matchup of 2025 NCAA Tournament qualifiers.
Cornell (1-3) held an advantage in hitting percentage (.154 to .081) and blocks (11 to 9), although couldn't spring the upset on the Warhawks' home floor, where they improved to 51-4 since 2023.
The see-saw affair witnessed 29 ties and 13 lead changes. The opening set was tied 19-19. In Set 2, the Rams had set-point serve three times at 24-23, 25-24 and 29-28. Cornell was even at 23-23 in the third set.
Cornell sophomore
Selia Stein had an impressive night with a match-high eight blocks, while hitting a sizzling .636 with seven kills on only 11 swings.
Ashlin Nottestad paced Cornell's attack with 11 kills, followed by
Ally Olmstead with 10.
Mia Tubbs collected five blocks.
The undefeated Warhawks (4-0) controlled the service game with nine aces, while allowing just two. Cornell committed 14 service errors.
Cornell's
Kensie Staats led all players with 16 digs.
Nia Howard and
Grace Tverberg handed out 15 and 14 assists, respectively.
Coming up – The Rams continue a daunting road trip with a 2 p.m. showdown Saturday against top-ranked and defending national champion UW-Oshkosh (6-0) in Oshkosh, Wis.
