Cornell advances with first-round sweep

Cornell's 1-2 hitting punch of Taylor Dicus and Kathleen O'Connor powered the Rams to a 25-18, 25-15, 25-20 victory over No. 6 seed Dubuque Tuesday night in the first round of the Iowa Conference at the Small Multi-Sport Center.

The third-seeded Rams (26-5 overall) claimed the program's first postseason win since 2004. They'll carry a 12-match winning streak into Thursday's semifinal against No. 2 seed Wartburg (24-10) at 7 p.m. in Waverly.

"We played a complete match and were very sharp offensively," Cornell head coach Jeff Meeker said.

Dicus, one of five freshmen playing key roles against the Spartans (16-18), smashed a match-high 16 kills and hit .538 in a sterling postseason debut. The 6-foot-2 middle hitter pounded 10 kills in the second set as the Rams rolled to their eighth 3-0 sweep in their last 10 outings.

O'Connor finished with 14 kills and 16 digs, her 14th double-double of the season. Cornell's balanced attack had Sickelka, Hitt and Pederson all contribute seven kills apiece. Sickelka went errorless in 20 swings for the Rams, who posted a .325 hitting percentage.

"Dicus was unstoppable and Sickelka was sharp," Meeker said. "Pedersen, Hitt and O'Connor all had some huge kills.

Freshman setter Sabrina Hargis dished out 39 assists to go with nine digs. Kylea Weber led all players with 17 digs. Dicus and Sickelka had three blocks apiece.

The Rams overcame an off-night from the service line (seven errors to two aces) with a strong reception game.

"Our serve receive was at its best. All four of our primary passers (Kelsey Gaillot, Kayla Gaines, O'Connor and Weber) were outstanding," Meeker said. "Sabrina did a great job distributing her sets."

The Rams move on to face defending IIAC Tournament champion Wartburg in the rubber match of the season series. The Knights earned a 25-16, 25-21, 25-19 sweep on Sept. 28 in Mount Vernon. The Rams returned the favor with a five-set win - 25-21, 16-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-13 - on Oct. 7 in the UW-Platteville Tournament.

The two teams battled in last year's IIAC semifinal, with Wartburg prevailing in five sets.

"Wartburg is tough and we expect a great match," Meeker said. "It will be two athletic teams slugging it out. We are on a roll and excited about our chances on Thursday."

The Cornell-Wartburg winner advances to the championship match Saturday, Nov. 5, held at the highest remaining seed. Top-seeded Coe (31-3) hosts No. 5 seed Central (23-10) in Thursday's other semifinal.