Rams take two on road, improve to 9-1

Cornell picked up a pair of nonconference road wins last week and equaled the team's best start in head coach Jeff Meeker's 10 seasons at the helm.

The Rams staged a big comeback in claiming a 19-25, 21-25, 25-18, 25-14, 15-13 victory over NAIA's St. Ambrose Wednesday night in Davenport. Cornell needed only three sets to dispose Augustana (25-17, 25-14, 25-14) Friday in Rock Island, Ill., marking the team's seventh sweep of the season.

Meeker's Rams are off to a rolling 9-1 start for the second year in a row. It took a late rally against a 7-2 St. Ambrose squad to get them there. The five-set match was Cornell's first of the season.

"It was a good week for our team," Meeker said. "St. Ambrose plays a very fast tempo and it simply took too long to catch up to their speed. It was good to win a close match, and good to persist after a sluggish start. It is the type of win that will help us grow."

Sophomore Kathleen O'Connor paced the Rams past St. Ambrose, hitting .306 with a match-high 14 kills. She also had 15 digs and served two aces. It was O'Connor's third double-double (kills and digs) of the season, and 21st of her career.

Freshman libero Kylea Weber gathered a season-high 25 digs and went 20-of-20 from the service line. Middle hitter Taylor Dicus provided 11 kills and seven blocks. Freshman Sabrina Hargis finished with 27 assists, 13 digs and four block assists. Senior Kirtley Hitt chipped in nine kills and Katie Sickelka had five block assists.

The Rams connected on nine aces and posted a .294 attack percentage in the Augustana win.

"I was happy to see us take care of business at Augustana," Meeker said. "We were sharp from the start and did a great job in all phases of our game. Our service game was good, our defense was very good and we transitioned very well."

O'Connor whistled five of the team's aces and led all players with 12 kills while hitting .423. Dicus collected 10 kills and six block assists. Weber had another solid defensive match with 22 digs. Hargis dished out 31 assists and served two aces.

Quick work - Cornell has dropped just six sets through 10 matches, fewest in the Iowa Conference. The Rams sport a 28-6 mark in sets played. They have not been held under 19 points in a single set when scoring is to 25.

Coming up - Cornell (0-1 Iowa Conference) resumes IIAC play Friday night against Buena Vista in Storm Lake. The Rams look to get back in the league race after a four-set loss at Coe in the IIAC opener Sept. 7.

The Rams have won five straight meetings against Buena Vista, and taken seven of the last nine in the series.

"This week will be very important for us to continue coming together in our training sessions," Meeker said. "With no matches until Buena Vista, we expect to get a lot done in the gym. Buena Vista will be a good road test for us. It's always challenging to play at their place and I know we're excited to get back into conference play."

Cornell hosts Ashford in a "Dig Pink" junior varsity/varsity doubleheader Saturday, starting with the JV match at 2 p.m. The Rams will support cancer awareness by wearing pink jerseys, giving out mini volleyballs and collecting donations throughout the afternoon.