JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – While both teams overcame one-set deficits, it was the Cornell Rams who emerged with a five-set victory over the Illinois College volleyball team on Saturday afternoon. With this win, the Rams will be hosting the Midwest Conference Tournament after improving to 16-7 (8-0 MWC). With this loss, the Lady Blues slid to the third spot in the MWC Tournament with a record of 18-7 (7-2 MWC). Before the match, the team recognized its four talented seniors. Liz Ganley,
Ali Pankey,
Maddie Ramsey, and
Madie Budd made their mark on the Hilltop, but they still have more to prove come conference tournament play.
The Lady Blues struggled getting things going early on. The first set score was 9-4 in favor of Cornell due to several miscues from the Lady Blues offense. A Cornell service error ended the five-point rally for the Rams. A kill from Pankey brought the deficit down to three. The Rams would continue to hold a small lead until they took five of eight points in the latter stage of the set. After this run, the Rams took a commanding 23-14 lead. The Lady Blues made things interesting before falling, 25-21.
The second set was classic IC volleyball. They were able to limit their mistakes and they took every advantage from the Rams. No team had more than a four-point margin the entire set. The Lady Blues were enjoying an 18-14 lead thanks to an Abbie Hortsmann kill. After this, the Lady Blues did not look back. IC had a 24-21 lead when Cornell was able to rattle off two pressure-packed points to make the score 24-23. Pankey was then able to take a Ganley set and she found a hole in the Ram defense, depositing a kill into the ground to knot the match at 1-1.
The third set was, again, a close one. The Rams came out of the huddle firing on all cylinders, taking a 4-0 lead. A Breanna Dameris kill was able to end the drought for IC. The score was 12-10 in favor of the Rams when the Lady Blues were able to take nine of twelve points in the middle of the set to take a commanding 23-17 lead. This lead was welcomed by four kills from four different players. Pankey,
Reagan Gifford, Hortsmann, and
Madison Klanke all got in on the action. After this frenzy, the Rams made a set of it. The Rams scored six unanswered points, making the score 23-23. A Ramsey kill and a Ram attack error gave the Lady Blues a 2-1 cushion.
The fourth set was all about runs. The Rams went on an early five-point run to make the score 5-2. Then, the Lady Blues went on a four-point run in the early stages to tie the set at 8-8. This run was led by two Ram errors and a kill from Klanke and Horstmann. In the middle of the set, the Rams went on another five-point run to extend their lead to 17-12. Following suit, the Lady Blues used a late four-point run of their own to close the gap to 20-17. This run was capped off by a Pankey service ace. However, the Rams were able to regain control of the set, using two IC errors win the set, 25-21.
The fifth and decisive set was taken by the Rams. The Rams took commanding control early, leading 9-5. The Lady Blues had no answer for the potent offense. Also, the Lady Blues struggled keeping the ball in the court, having several errors early on. The Rams did not look back from this 9-5 advantage, taking the set and the match, 15-7.
Ganley led the Lady Blues with 49 assists. Pankey led the way for the Lady Blues offense with 16 kills. Dameris had a 12-kill afternoon, while Klanke and Horstmann both had 10 kills. Pankey and Budd led the way for the defense, accounting for 19 digs.
The Lady Blues volleyball squad will hit the road for a non-conference doubleheader in Grinnell, Iowa on November 2. They will take on Central College and Buena Vista University at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
