PHILADELPHIA -- The Cornell volleyball team clawed its way back from a 17-24 deficit in the first set and never looked back in a 3-1 win over Penn on Friday night from the Palestra. The Big Red improved to 5-10 and 3-3 in Ivy League play, while the Quakers dropped to 2-15 and 0-7 in conference play. 

Sophomore Eliza Konvicka served up another double-digit kill performance with 17 to go along with eight blocks and eight digs to lead Cornell's high-flying attack, which outmatched Penn 51-36 in the kill department. Konvicka was not the only one picking up blocks on the night, as Camryn Carlo and Sydney Moore each hit that mark alongside a combined 14 kills and a .379 attack percentage between the junior and senior. Zada Sanger led the Quakers with nine kills, who are still searching for its first conference win of 2023. 

The fireworks started early for the Big Red during the first set. With the score deadlocked at ten apiece, the Quakers grabbed momentum with a 3-0 run to push the score to 13-10. Penn would hold onto the lead until it was one point away from clinching the first set at 24-17. With its backs against the wall, Cornell used a Penn service error to its advantage, picking up the point to move things a little closer at 24-18. Cornell would send Sarita Pomar back for the serve, hoping to continue the momentum. The freshman would never leave that line again in the set, as an 8-0 run fueled by three aces by the Ponce, Puerto Rico native, and two combo blocks by Carlo and Nicole Mallus gave the Big Red the first set, 26-24. 

With the thrill of the first set still buzzing around, Cornell got off to a hot start in the second, stretching its lead out to 16-10. The Big Red would continue to hold a steady cushion late in the set until a 5-0 run by the Quakers tied things up at 21. Both teams would trade the next handful of points until a kill and service ace by Penn gave them the momentum, who clinched the second set on a Big Red attack error to put the match back at a standstill. Cornell and Penn struggled in the second, each recording a hitting percentage lower than .100. 

Almost all season long, the third set had always seemed to be the Big Red's kryptonite, as the opponent would often take the momentum and run with it, leaving Cornell in the dust. Friday was a different story, as Cornell raced ahead with an 11-6 lead, fueled by three Nicole Mallus kills and service aces by Konvicka and Megan Bickel. Penn would again make things interesting, closing the Big Red's lead to as low as two throughout the set. However, the red and white took it in stride, winning six of the last eight points, highlighted by a set-ending block by Sydney Moore and Jaida Sione to take the third set. 

The magic was back on the Big Red's side heading into the fourth set, and the team was saving its best performance for last, rattling off a match-high 15 kills and a .481 hitting percentage in the final frame compared to only four kills and a -.100 hitting performance by the Quakers. Penn would take the first point of the fourth set, but a 5-0 run after was all the Big Red needed, as it coasted to a 25-12 win to take the match and its 34th win over Penn in program history.

Match Notes

• Friday's win on the road is the first for the Big Red in the Palestra since winning a five-set marathon on Oct. 14, 2019.
• The Big Red notched 16 blocks in Friday's win over the Quakers. It's the first time Cornell has notched 15 or more blocks in an Ivy League match since a four-set win over Harvard on Sept. 28, 2018.
• Cornell also had 32 block assists in the win. It is tied for the most under head coach Trudy Vande Berg since Cornell had that same mark in a five-set thriller over Brown on Nov. 11, 2017. 
• Junior Camryn Carlo had eight kills in the victory, pushing her season total to 99, which breaks her previous career-high of 98 set last season. 
• Doga Ozalp's 45 assists are the sixth time this season that the sophomore has eclipsed 40 or more. The Istanbul, Turkey native also notched her 500th assist during the fourth set of Friday's victory. 
• Freshman Libero Sarita Pomar also picked up her 200th career dig during the first set of Friday's match. 

Up Next
The Big Red will close its weekend road trip with a matchup against Princeton on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. from Dillon Gymnasium. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.