PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania volleyball team swept Cornell on Friday night at The Palestra, avenging last month's Big Red sweep up in Ithaca. The Quakers won a tightly fought first set 25-20; held off a furious Cornell rally in the second set to win, 25-22; then rallied from a 15-13 deficit in the third set to close out the match, 25-20.
Penn improved to 7-15 overall and 4-9 in Ivy League play. Cornell fell to 7-14 overall on the season, 3-10 in conference play.
Quaker Notemeal
*The straight-set win was Penn's first such victory since its second match of the season, back on September 4 against Canisius.
*Penn snapped a four-match losing streak against Cornell dating back to the 2018 season, while the three-set sweep was the Quakers' first over the Big Red since the 2012 season.
*Senior
Kylie Kulinski finished with a match-high 31 assists, her fourth-best total of the season.
*For the second time in Penn's last three matches, fellow senior
Margaret Planek fell one kill shy of a double-double as she had a match-high 14 digs to go with her nine kills.
*Senior
Daniela Fornaciari had 11 kills to lead all players, her fourth 10+ kill effort in Penn's last six matches after she posted just one such effort in Penn's first 15 matches of the season.
*Junior captain
Autumn Leak finished with nine kills, surpassing 300 for the season and 500 for her career.
*Senior captain
Carmina Raquel tied Planek with a match-high 14 digs from her libero position.
How It Happened
The first set was tight early on, as neither team led by more than two points until a 3-0 Cornell run gave the Big Red a 13-10 lead. Penn was quick to respond with three straight points of its own. With Cornell leading 16-15, three Fornaciari kills gave the Quakers a 19-17 lead, forcing a Cornell timeout, but the break did little to stop Penn's momentum as three of the frame's final nine points came from the right arm of Leak, including the set-clinching point.
Back-to-back kills and a block assist by
Paige Gillon helped Penn open an 11-6 lead in the second set. The Quakers continued widening the margin, expanding it to 20-11, but Cornell rallied to within one at 22-21. However, Planek ended a near minute-long rally with a critical kill, getting some breathing room back for Penn.
After Cornell again closed to within a single point, Planek finished off the set with back-to-back kills.
Penn held 8-4 and 9-5 leads in the third set, but Cornell responded with a 10-4 run to grab a two-point lead. The Quakers answered with four straight points, forcing a Cornell timeout. The Big Red closed to within a single point on two occasions, but to kills from Planek and one each from Fornaciari, junior
Madeline McGregor and Gillon closed out the sweep.
Up Next
Penn closes out the 2021 regular season Saturday night against the Columbia Lions, with senior night ceremonies to honor Fornaciari, Planek, Raquel, Kulinski, and
Carly Cohen. First serve is slated for 5 p.m., with the Senior Ceremony scheduled for 4:50.
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