Cornell clinched at least a share of its first Ivy League volleyball championship since 2006, beating Brown in five sets Saturday night at Newman Arena in Ithaca.
The Big Red won 25-21, 21-25, 27-25, 20-25, 15-9 before more than 350 fans on senior night, improving to 15-6 overall and 11-1 in the Ivy League. Cornell also secured the right to host the Ivy League Tournament on Nov. 20-21, while Brown fell to 6-14 and 4-8.
Bogan leads the deciding fifth set
Senior Ava Bogan finished with a career-high 19 kills and a match-high 11 blocks, including one solo block. She hit .333 and scored 25 points, then delivered five kills and three blocks in the deciding set.
Cornell held a 7-6 lead in the fifth before a six-point run opened a 13-6 advantage. The Big Red hit .333 in the set while holding Brown to negative .043. Sophomore setter Mary Wolcott ended the match with a setter dump.
“Ava took over in that fifth set and decided she wasn’t going to let her team lose,” Cornell coach Trudy Vande Berg said.
The match featured 29 ties and eight lead changes. Cornell finished with 68 kills to Brown’s 64, hit .212 to the Bears’ .196 and held a 15-6 advantage in blocks. Brown led 85-83 in digs, and each team served five aces.
“I think we came out a little flat and let them get into a rhythm, and they’re a really good team,” Vande Berg said. “They have very good players. Their record is not indicative of how talented they are. When you let a team like that get into a rhythm, it makes our game play much more difficult.”
Cornell saves two set points in the third
Cornell never trailed in the opening set. Junior Mackenzie Parsons supplied six kills, freshman Nevaeh Tien handed out nine assists, and Parsons and sophomore Sydney Zanca each contributed two blocks. Both teams hit .186.
Brown’s four-point run in the second set was answered by six straight Cornell points for a 12-9 Big Red lead. The Bears later erased a 16-12 deficit with six consecutive points to move ahead 18-16 and went on to even the match. Cornell hit negative .031 in the set, despite four kills and three blocks from Bogan.
The third set required another Cornell comeback. Brown led 14-9 before a four-point Big Red run narrowed the gap. Cornell did not take its first lead until 22-21 and had to save two set points before winning 27-25.
Parsons and senior Jaida Sione each recorded eight kills in that set, Bogan added four blocks and Wolcott distributed 21 assists. Cornell put down 22 kills and hit .310. Freshman Ellery Williamson served the final two points.
In the fourth, Cornell used four straight points to take a 6-4 lead, but Brown’s later four-point run put the Bears ahead 18-16. Bogan had six kills and Wolcott 12 assists as Cornell lost 25-20, setting up the decisive fifth.
Parsons, Sione and Pomar help finish the title win
Parsons finished with 18 kills, three blocks and an ace. Sione added 15 kills and three blocks, and Zanca had seven kills and seven blocks.
Wolcott finished with 48 assists, two kills, six digs and two blocks. Senior Sara Pomar led Cornell with 19 digs, while junior Trinidy Tien had 12 digs and an ace. Williamson contributed four kills on .500 hitting, 11 digs and two blocks. Nevaeh Tien finished with 11 assists and five digs, and junior Haley Clark served three aces and added seven digs.
“Every game, we’re playing for each other, but this one was super special for my class,” Bogan said. “We all really, really are gonna miss each other when we leave, so we wanted to go out on a good note for sure. I’m so proud of how we pulled together and got the win tonight.”
Cornell honored seniors Pomar, Bogan, Amrit Dhaliwal, Sione and Madison Wood after the match. Pomar and Dhaliwal are team captains. Bogan, Sione and Pomar started their final regular-season home match and combined for 34 kills, 14 blocks and 25 digs.
Bogan entered the night averaging 1.86 blocks per set, second in the nation and the best single-season rate in program history. Pomar’s career average of 3.15 digs per set ranked ninth in Cornell history entering the match.
“When we came in as freshmen, we never could have dreamed of turning the program into what it is now,” Bogan said.
For Vande Berg, the championship reflected a season of adjustments and work on and off the court.
“These kids work so hard at everything, on and off the court. They totally deserve it. They’re very coachable, and we make adjustments,” she said.
Two road matches remain before the Ivy tournament
Cornell closes the regular season with visits to Harvard and Dartmouth next weekend. The Harvard match begins at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, and will stream on ESPN+.
The Big Red then returns to Newman Arena to host the Ivy League Tournament on Nov. 20-21.
Photo: Darl Zehr/Cornell Athletics.
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