Volleyball opened its Ivy League season in a commanding fashion, sweeping Columbia in straight sets to secure a confident victory.
Leading the charge offensively, sophomore middle blocker Mackenzie Parsons put together a stellar performance, boasting 11 kills with an efficient .625 hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter Eliza Konvicka fueled the offensive pressure as well, adding 10 more kills and three aces to help the Red maintain momentum against the Lions.
Coming into the game, the Red had a clear plan of success emerging from preseason. By setting the tone early, the Red hopes everything else will fall into place.
“That’s definitely something we’ve been working on throughout preseason — the ability to stay calm and consistent in high-pressure moments,” Parsons said. “This game really showcased how much that training has paid off, especially given how Columbia as a team got progressively more disciplined and aggressive as the sets went on.”
In the first set, the Red came out strong early, stunning the Lions with a 20-10 lead. While the Lions clawed their way back into contention with an uncontested six-point run, the Red were able claim the set by stopping them in their tracks with critical kills from Parsons and Konvicka and claim the set.
Reflecting on the first set, Parsons said, “We came out of the gates to the game strong so that when they pushed back … we would feel steady, calm and well prepared to handle that situation.”
The second set mirrored the first, yet the Red again remained composed. When the Lions found a groove with another six-point streak, the Red squashed their efforts with consistent offensive pressure and defensive composure.
Coming down to the wire, the Red and the Lions battled it out, trading points deep into the third set and forcing overtime. In the end, the Red came out on top with a decisive three-point burst to cement its sweep over the Lions.
Outpacing the Lions in every significant statistic, the Red played a disciplined and well-rounded game, which the Lions were unable to overcome. In particular, the Red out-digged the Lions 36-31, demonstrating defensive prowess on par with the offense, sending a clear message of balanced ability to the Ivy League.
“We came in wanting to set the tone for the rest of Ivy play, and I think we successfully accomplished that,” said Parsons.
The Red will return home for two Ivy League matchups set against Harvard (1-7, 0-0 Ivy) at 5 p.m. on Friday and Dartmouth (3-7, 0-0 Ivy) at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Lukas Ostrogorsky is a Sun Contributor and can be reached at lao59@cornell.edu.
