DUBUQUE – Cornell's volleyball team concluded a challenging season-opening road swing Wednesday night with a 28-26, 23-25, 25-21, 25-16 loss to national-votes getter Dubuque in a battle of conference preseason favorites inside Stoltz Sports Center.
The Rams and Spartans squared off last November in an NCAA regional quarterfinal, won by Dubuque by the slimmest of margins in the fifth set.
Wednesday's match had the makeup of another down-to-the wire finish after the teams traded two-point victories through two sets.
Ally Olmstead's solo block provided Cornell's winning point to take Set 2.
Cornell (1-5) held a 13-12 lead in Set 3 when the Spartans (7-2) responded with five consecutive points. Dubuque didn't trail the rest of the night.
Sophomore
Ashlin Nottestad posted a double-double for the Rams with 10 kills and 14 digs.
Mia Tubbs had a strong offensive night with 11 kills on .300 hitting. Olmstead added eight kills.
The Rams recorded nine team blocks, led by
Selia Stein with six.
Hannah Cantwell and
Kensie Staats shared team-high honors with 18 digs.
Nia Howard tallied 19 assists and two aces.
Dubuque owned a 53-39 advantage in kills and capitalized on 17 service errors by the Rams.
Coming up – Cornell makes its home debut Friday inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center. The Rams play 2025 NCAA qualifier Gustavus Adolphus (5-2) at 2:30 p.m. and St. Norbert (1-9) at 7:30 p.m.
Gustavus Adolphus and Hope play at 5 p.m.
