With only three days to recover from a 3-0 loss to cross-town rival Syracuse, the Red opens its Ivy League schedule tomorrow in New York City, taking on Columbia. Cornell will also finish off its non-conference schedule, taking on Hartford tomorrow as well.

When the Red (2-8) made the trip to Syracuse (10-4) Wednesday night, nobody was hoping for a repeat of last year’s 3-0 win by the Orange. But that’s exactly what they got, falling in straight sets, 25-20, 25-15, 25-12.

“We started off really strong, but we just weren’t able to close,” said head coach Sarah Bernson. “Our discipline broke down. We haven’t gotten to that point yet of pushing through and finishing a set. When [our opponent] challenges us at those key moments –– that’s what we need to work on.”

After beating Syracuse in the race to 20 points in the first set, the Red stagnated and failed to win another point. After the come-from-behind victory in game 1, the Orange never looked back, winning games 2 and 3 without skipping a beat.Here’s to things looking up: The Red hopes to rebound in three days’ time from its 3-0 loss to local rival Syracuse. Cornell is looking to start Ivy League play tomorrow with a clean slate.

“I think we lost a bit of confidence after the first game, because we had been doing well but couldn’t finish strong,” Bernson said. “Our chemistry broke down and we weren’t trusting our teammates as well as we had been in the first set.”

“I think we just need to have a little more trust in each other,” said senior captain Megan Mushovic, echoing the sentiments of her coach. “Unfortunately in volleyball, the little mistakes add up quickly in a game to 25. We just struggled, but we’re definitely staying positive coming into the weekend.”

Cornell will open up tomorrow with its first Ivy League contest, taking on Columbia (7-4) at 11 a.m. and following that up with a 4:30 p.m. match against Hartford (6-7) in Columbia’s Levien Gymnasium. For the Red, the most important aspect of the weekend isn’t finishing up its non-conference schedule, but rather opening its Ivy schedule.


“In years past, we’ve used the start of the Ivy League to have a fresh start,” Bernson said. “So we really feel that even though we didn’t play well last night, we have a fresh start [tomorrow].”

Cornell beat the Lions in both of their matches last season, winning 3-2 in the second contest. The Lions finished last season in last place in the Ancient Eight, going 0-14 against Ivy competition.

But there are some new faces making an impact for the Red’s traveling partner. The Lions are led by freshman outside hitter Megan Gaughn, who already has 178 kills, averaging 3.96 per game. Freshman Erin Longinotti is second on the team with 98 (2.23/game), and setting the two newcomers is another freshman –– Kelsey Musselman –– who leads the team with 227 assists.

“They’re much better [than last year],” Bernson said. “They have some freshmen that are doing really well for them, and it’s the second year with a new coach, so they’re a little more stable than they have been in years past.”

Still, after finishing the non-conference schedule with just two wins and most recently being downed in straight sets by Syracuse, the team is hoping to use the Columbia match as a new start to the season.

“Ivies is a clean slate for us, and we can start over,” Mushovic said. “Columbia is a game we should do well at, and hopefully we can start out 1-0.”

Even though the loss column has been reset to zero for the conference schedule, the Red isn’t forgetting about its match with Hartford following the Ivy season opener.

“I think it’s nice that we get to play Columbia first and focus on them, but Hartford is also our last chance to fix things without it counting in Ivy League,” Mushovic said. “We don’t know them as well, but we’re not taking them lightly in any way.”

The last time the Red squared off with Hartford was in 2003, and Cornell came away with a 3-1 win. The Red is 5-1 all-time against the Hawks.

The Hawks broke a three-game losing streak by picking up their sixth win in straight sets over Bryant on Wednesday. Unlike the Lions, Hartford has a good mix of experience and youth at the top of the kills column. Senior opposite Erin Macro leads the team with 155 kills (3.37/game), and is complemented on the outside by freshman Kami Nethersole (124, 2.82/game).

For the Hawks, junior Lindsay Ford has been the definition of efficiency, having already accumulated 435 assists for an average of 9.46 per game. For the Red, the match against Hartford will be its last opportunity to make adjustments before every match counts towards the Ivy League standings.

“It’s another opportunity to switch things around and see if we can have a good game,” Bernson said. “We’re definitely keyed in on Columbia, but the opportunity to win two matches in the same day is something that I hope the team will focus on as well.”