Rams take down Coe for ninth straight win

Cornell's volleyball team is hitting its stride at an opportune time heading into the final week of regular-season play.

The Rams (23-5 overall, 3-3 Iowa Conference) stretched their match-winning streak to nine with a perfect 4-0 week, punctuated by an impressive 19-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-15 nonconference home victory over rival Coe (28-3) in Saturday's finale of the Cornell Quadrangular.

Cornell avenged an early-season loss against IIAC unbeaten Coe, which received votes in last week's national poll. That moved the Rams' win total to 23, tied for third-most in a season at Cornell. Head coach Jeff Meeker's 2009 and 2004 squads both finished with 23 wins.

"It was a fantastic week for the team. All season our goal has been to make progress every week, and this was definitely a week of progress," Meeker said. "We expected a great match and environment against Coe. Our fans were outstanding and they saw some great volleyball."

Cornell stepped closer to earning a berth in next week's IIAC Tournament with a key 25-17, 25-18, 25-23 road win Tuesday over Central (22-9, 4-3). The Rams rolled to a 25-13, 25-11, 25-16 victory Thursday at Monmouth, and then posted their sixth consecutive sweep - 25-20, 25-16, 25-22 - Saturday against Principia in the Cornell Quadrangular.

Sophomore outside hitter Kathleen O'Connor triggered Cornell's attack last week, averaging 4.31 kills per set while boasting a .297 hitting percentage. She blasted 18 kills against Coe, which saw its 10-match winning streak snapped.

Taylor Dicus hit .483 with 15 kills and six total blocks against the Kohawks. Samantha Pedersen added eight kills for the Rams, who compiled a .306 team hitting percentage. Sabrina Hargis handed out 44 assists, going over 800 for the season. Kylea Weber contributed 19 digs and a pair of service aces.

"Dicus was dominant at the net and O'Connor had some huge kills," Meeker said. "Weber had another great match. Hargis continues to develop into a great setter."

The Rams earned a quality win at Central, beating the Dutch for just the second time since joining the IIAC. O'Connor pelted a match-high 12 kills, with Dicus adding eight. Hargis collected 25 assists and Weber finished with 15 digs.

"The Central win was critical," Meeker said. "We played with good poise and confidence."

Hargis distributed 36 assists in the rout of Monmouth (9-14), 12 going to O'Connor. Dicus, Pedersen and Katie Sickelka pitched in six kills apiece for the Rams, who hit .337. Weber and Kayla Gaines had 12 and 11 digs, respectively. O'Connor connected on four of the team's seven ace serves.

A strong service game which produced 10 aces helped power the Rams past Principia (15-18). Freshman Kelsey Gaillot whistled seven aces, one shy of the program's single-match mark shared by Hannah Boehmer (2008) and Hope Coffin (2004).

O'Connor posted 14 kills and 12 digs against Principia, her 13th double-double of the season. Dicus had nine kills and six total blocks, while Sickelka provided seven kills. Hargis had 25 assists. Weber finished with 14 digs, and Gaines 11.

Coming up - The Rams, currently fifth in the league standings at 3-3, need one win in their final two regular-season matches this week to clinch a spot in the six-team IIAC Tournament Nov. 1-5.

Cornell plays host to postseason-bound Loras (10-21, 4-3) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Rams will recognize 2011 Alumni "C" Club Coach of the Year Michelle (Dye) Goodall, a former volleyball/basketball standout who led the Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School volleyball team to the state tournament the past three seasons.

The Rams host Luther (17-12, 2-4) in the regular-season finale at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The team will pay tribute to its three seniors - Kirtley Hitt, Pedersen and Gaines. The trio has helped the Rams compile a 79-47 record over the past four years.

"We feel very good about our level of play and can't wait to take on Loras and Luther this week," Meeker said. "We expect two more great turnouts from our home fans, and more exciting volleyball."

Record-setter - It was a record-setting week for Cornell's Dicus, who became the program's new leader for block assists in a season (99) and tied the single-season mark for total blocks (124). The freshman middle hitter totaled 19 blocks in four matches, jumping Tiffany Cowan (91 block assists in 2005) atop the single-season list. Dicus shares the record for total blocks with Cowan.

Dicus averages an IIAC-best 1.23 blocks per set, a tad off the school-record pace set by Andrea Magnuson (1.26 bps) in 1999. Dicus also ranks fourth in the conference with a .314 hitting percentage.