MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's volleyball team shook off a tight five-set loss to national-votes getter Gustavus Adolphus and cruised past former Midwest Conference rival St. Norbert by scores of 25-17, 25-21 and 25-20 in Friday's finale inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
Making their 2026 home debut, the Rams (2-6) came up a few points short against Gustavus Adolphus – 25-20, 21-25, 12-25, 25-18 and 15-13 – in a battle between 2025 NCAA Tournament teams.
Sophomore
Ashlin Nottestad hit .300 with a match-high 10 kills in the sweep over St. Norbert (1-10). She also served two of the team's seven aces in the contest.
Cornell's balanced attack saw
Mia Tubbs and
Ally Olmstead record seven kills apiece and
Selia Stein with six. Olmstead accounted for four blocks.
Kensie Staats had 12 digs.
Nia Howard and
Grace Tverberg combined for 31 assists.
In Friday's opener, the Rams pushed Gustavus Adolphus to the limit in a see-saw fifth set that featured 11 ties. An Olmstead spike knotted the score at 13-13, although the Gusties (6-2) prevailed with the final two points.
Three Rams reached double-digit kills in Olmstead (12), Tubbs (11) and
Hannah Cantwell (10). Cantwell added 10 digs for a double-double. Olmstead was tough at the net with seven blocks.
Cornell planted 11 ace serves, four off the hand of Tverberg who also dished 19 assists. Staats tallied a match-high 17 digs. Howard handed out 27 assists.
Coming up – The Rams play Lakeland at 10 a.m. Saturday in a neutral-site match at Coe's Kohawk Arena in Cedar Rapids.
