The Bison volleyball team wrapped up non-league play with a 2-1 weekend at the Cornell Invitational. The Orange and Blue’s weekend began with a 5 set victory over Niagara on Friday but ultimately ended poorly with losses to UNLV and Cornell on Saturday. The Bison now sit at 4-5 on the season and are well prepared for Patriot League play.

On Friday, the Bison rallied from the brink of a loss to win back-to-back sets against Niagara, resulting in a 3-2 win. The Bison started hot, winning the opening set 25-18. The set began with a 10-0 run for the Bison that gave them a comfortable lead that they were able to hold onto for the victory. Niagara narrowly won the following two sets 25-23 and 25-21, putting the Bison on the brink of defeat. The Bison responded in the fourth set. They led by 3 points the entire set until a 12-1 run resulted in a 25-12 victory. In the decisive fifth set, the score was tied at 11. From this point on the Bison went on a roll. They won two points on Niagara errors and then the match was sealed with two kills from Catherine Jamison ’24.

As a team, the Bison posted a season-high 10 total blocks. Sarah Ramirez ’24 continued her stellar play with 40 assists in the match. Lisa Zoch ’23 and Jamison were stellar offensively, combining for 26 kills. Allie Lopez ’24, five block assists, and Jen Sivak ’25, four block assists, also played well for the Bison.

On the second day of the competition, the Bison struggled. They lost in straight sets to both UNLV and Cornell. The Bison had several good moments against UNLV but were unable to win any of the sets. In set one, the Bison were able to build an 11-9 lead after some stellar play. Unfortunately, UNLV was able to go on a 7-0 run to wrap up the set 25-17. UNLV maintained a 3-point cushion for most of the second set and was able to keep the Orange and Blue at bay. In the final set, the Bison struggled and were only able to score back-to-back points a single time. Jamison played well again for the Bison, posting 9 more kills. Lopez and Jordan Hardy ’25 played well, registering a pair of blocks and 15 digs, respectively.

Against Cornell, the Bison started well with a 9-4 lead. However, a 10-0 run by Cornell completely changed the momentum resulting in a Cornell victory. The Bison also played well in the second set closing the score to 23-22. Unfortunately, the Orange and Blue were not able to complete the comeback and fell 25-23. The Bison seemed to run out of steam in the last set of the weekend, falling 25-14. Sivak played exceptionally well for the Bison posting eight kills and only one error. Hardy and Sarina Singer ’23, both ended the match with double-digit digs.

This weekend wrapped up the stretch of non-league games for the Bison. They now will look ahead to their Patriot League portion of the schedule starting with matches against Navy and Holy Cross. The Bison will play Navy on Sept. 17 at 7pm and Holy Cross on Sept. 18 at 4:30pm, with both matches being played on the road.