Dartmouth Defeats Cornell in Straight Sets on Senior Night

Saturday, November 7

Hanover, N.H.

5:00 PM

Dartmouth College

11-10, 8-4

Cornell

6-16, 2-10

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Cornell	10	18	25	0
Dartmouth	25	25	27	3

Dartmouth Defeats Cornell in Straight Sets on Senior Night

11/7/2015 6:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. - Dartmouth volleyball won its second straight match, defeating Cornell, 3-0, (25-10, 25-18, 27-25) on Senior Night in the last home match of the 2015 season.

The Big Green improved to 11-10 overall and 8-4 in Ivy League play, while the Big Red dipped to 6-16 and 2-10 in conference action. Harvard remains first in the league with a record of 9-3, while Princeton and Dartmouth are tied for second.

As she did on Friday night, junior Emily Astarita registered a double-double, recording 14 kills and 11 digs and leading the team in both categories. Senior Kaira Lujan hit .500, while classmate Kayden Cook had 39 assists, had two of the team's five aces and played a big hand in giving Dartmouth its final few points of the match.

“We had a really great effort today,” head coach Erin Lindsey said, “and what better way to honor your seniors than having all three of them play and play so well. Kayden especially had an exceptional night running offense, leading us to a .265 hitting percentage, which is one of the best in the last few matches. Alli had a great night, especially in blocking in the second set. Paige obviously did great job carrying the load offensively and reaching 1,000 digs last night.

“Overall, we had a really great weekend,” Lindsey continued, “and we look forward to taking our great play on the road against Yale and Brown next weekend and hopefully competing for an Ivy League championship.”

The home team opened the match incredibly well, taking a 7-0 lead off three Cornell errors, two kills by Lujan and one by Astarita, and an ace by freshman Jordan Cornwell. Another six-point run put Dartmouth five points away from a victory while the Big Red had yet to reach double digits (20-6). A kill apiece by Lyle and Lujan ended the set.

Set two was a lot closer and, six consecutive points by Cornell gave them a 13-11 advantage. The teams traded points until Dartmouth tied it at 15 with an Astarita kill and put five straight points on the board off two Lyle kills, an ace and a kill by Astarita, and two errors to make it 20-15. Unlike the first set, the Big Red were able to get within six (24-18), but Astarita's kill gave Dartmouth its second victory.

Cornell seemed determined to get a set of its own and, in turn, there were 13 ties in the third. With Dartmouth at match point (24-23), a kill by the Big Red tied the score at 24, while another kill by the same player put the visitors at game point (24-25). A kill by Cook tied things at 25 and a pair of aces by her gave the match to the home team.

Dartmouth will hit the road for Brown and Yale next Friday and Saturday to end the year.