Cornell women’s volleyball overcame a narrow opening-set defeat Friday night, winning three consecutive sets to rally past Eastern Michigan 3-1 at George Gervin GameAbove Center.
BILLS GAME WEEK: Buffalo heads to Los Angeles for Monday Night Football matchup with Rams (preview) The Big Red dropped the first set 26-24 before responding with a decisive 25-15 victory in the second. Cornell then survived another tight battle in the third, edging Eastern Michigan 26-24, before putting the match away with a 25-18 fourth-set win.
The victory moved Cornell to 4-3 on the season.
Ava Bogan led the Big Red offensively with 16 kills while hitting .600 and added seven total blocks for 20.5 points. Jaida Sione contributed 12 kills, while Mackenzie Parsons finished with nine kills, 16 digs and three blocks.
Kiran Rio added eight kills, nine digs and two blocks, while Mary Wolcott guided the offense with 41 assists and recorded 10 digs. Amrit Dhaliwal also made an impact from the service line, recording seven aces along with seven digs and three blocks.
The match marked an important return for Haley Clark, who made her 2026 debut after an injury ended her 2025 season prematurely. Clark played all four sets and contributed six digs and an assist.
Cornell finished the match with 52 kills, 16 service aces, 13 blocks and 76 digs while limiting Eastern Michigan to a .089 hitting percentage.
The Big Red’s strongest stretch came late in the third set. After Eastern Michigan took a 22-21 lead and reached set point at 24-23, Cornell answered with a kill from Parsons before scoring the final two points to take control of the match.
Cornell carried that momentum into the fourth set, racing to an early 4-0 advantage and never surrendering the lead. The Big Red eventually built a 22-16 cushion before Wolcott finished the match with her second service ace of the set.
Cornell returns to action Saturday at the University of Michigan. The match is scheduled for noon.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.
