Rams carry 11-1 mark into Wartburg match

Cornell's volleyball team rebounded from a slow start and took down NAIA foe Ashford - 25-21, 21-25, 25-13, 25-15 - at home Saturday to run its season record to 11-1, marking the program's best start during 10th-year head coach Jeff Meeker's tenure.

It was the seventh consecutive victory for the Rams, who evened their Iowa Conference record at 1-1 on Friday night with a 25-17, 27-25, 22-25, 25-18 win over Buena Vista in Storm Lake.

Sparked by a string of serves from freshman libero Kylea Weber, the Rams rattled off 15 of the final 17 points in Set 1 against Ashford on "Dig Pink" Day in the Small Multi-Sport Center. Weber finished with three ace serves as the Rams found their groove late in the opening set.

"Our Ashford win is absolutely one we can build from," Meeker said. "Although our start was sluggish, we really played at a high level to close 15-2 and turn the match around. When we were playing well, it was our best ball of the season."

Cornell featured a balanced attack against the 12-10 Saints with four players reaching double figures in kills. Sophomore Kathleen O'Connor nailed down a team-high 11 kills, while Taylor Dicus, Katie Sickelka and Samantha Pedersen contributed 10 apiece. Sickelka hit .346 with only one attack error in 26 attempts.

The Rams totaled seven team blocks, getting five assisted stuffs and one solo from the 6-foot-2 Dicus. Freshman Sabrina Hargis handed out 39 assists and Weber had a team-best 19 digs. O'Connor and Kelsey Gaillot added 15 and 14 digs, respectively.

The Rams claimed their sixth straight series win over Buena Vista in a hard-fought conference match. Dicus led the charge, hitting .423 with 15 kills while recording seven blocks.

"Buena Vista is always a challenging place to play," Meeker said. "I thought they played very well and made us work hard to earn points. It was certainly one of those matches where nothing was easy, but we were persistent and scored the big points."

Hargis and Gaillot shared setting duties against the Beavers (4-12, 0-3), distributing 26 and 25 assists respectively. O'Connor posted a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs. Pedersen chipped in 10 kills while Weber totaled 23 digs. The Rams served eight aces, including three from sophomore Jordan Weitzell.

Wartburg week - A big conference showdown takes place here Wednesday night when the Rams (11-1 overall, 1-1 IIAC) host the 24th-ranked Wartburg Knights (12-4, 3-1). First serve is 7:30 p.m.

The Knights are the defending IIAC Tournament champions and the preseason favorite to capture the 2011 title. Cornell was picked a close second behind the Knights in the IIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Wartburg outlasted the Rams in five sets in the semifinals of last year's IIAC Tournament. Cornell took a four-set win in the regular season in Waverly a year ago.

As part of Wednesday's "Block Party" match - the end of academic Block 1 - Cornell will be throwing out free t-shirts for aces and mini volleyballs for stuff blocks.

"We expect to pack the gym for our "Block Party", Meeker said. "The Wartburg match will be an exciting one between two good teams. They have a lot of weapons. We will need to play great defense and win the serve and passing game to be successful."

Cornell travels to Waverly at the end of the week to play four matches in the Wartburg Knights Classic. On Friday, the Rams meet St. Olaf (2 p.m.) and UW-Eau Claire (4 p.m.). The team has Saturday matches scheduled against 12th-ranked St. Thomas (10 a.m.) and UW-River Falls (4 p.m.).

Rams in the rankings - Cornell enters the week No. 1 in the conference in team hitting percentage (.240) and ace serves (1.95 aps). The Rams are second in the IIAC in blocks (1.88 bps).

Dicus is the league leader in hitting percentage (.372) and blocks (1.27 bps). O'Connor averages an IIAC-best 0.60 aces per set and ranks sixth in kills (3.07 kps). Weber stands fourth in digs (4.35 dps) and Hargis sixth in assists (6.71 aps).