Saturday, September 5
Ithaca, NY
6 PM
Syracuse University
3-2,0-0ACC
3
at
2
Cornell
1-2,0-0Ivy League
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syracuse | 25 | 23 | 26 | 16 | 15 | 3 |
| Cornell | 22 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 11 | 2 |
Syracuse Wins Five-Set Match Against Cornell
9/5/2026 10:53:00 PM | Volleyball
The Syracuse volleyball team closed out its three-match trip to Ithaca with a hard-fought five-set win over the Cornell Big Red on Saturday evening at Newman Arena, taking the finale of the Cornell Invitational by a final of 25-22, 23-25, 26-24, 16-25, 15-11.
Keila Gabriel paced the Orange attack with a team-high 16 kills on a .300 hitting clip. Kiernan Stamey turned in a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs, while Emma Williams added 14 kills of her own. Setter Charis Burge orchestrated the offense with 50 assists, and Yuka Urano anchored the back row with a match-high 23 digs. Abby Nicholson led the Orange at the net, factoring into a team-high seven blocks (one solo, six assists).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Syracuse jumped out to an early lead in the opening set behind kills from Stamey and Gabriel, building as much as a 14-10 cushion. Cornell answered with a 5-0 run to tie the set at 16. The two teams traded points and ties at 20-20 and 22-22 before the Orange closed it out on back-to-back kills from Gabriel and Nicholson and a block from Burge and Nicholson to seal a 25-22 opening-set win.
The second set stayed just as back-and-forth. The set was tied at 23-23 late before the Big Red closed it out on consecutive points, evening the match at a set apiece with a 25-23 win.
Set three saw the Orange jump ahead early on kills from Stamey and build a 14-11 lead before Cornell fought back to tie it at 14. From there, the set was back-and-forth with six more ties down the stretch. Syracuse finally broke through, extending past a 24-24 deadlock to close it out 26-24 on a kill from Bella Rodriguez and reclaim the match lead.
Cornell jumped out to a 4-0 lead out of the gate in set four and never let go, tsking a 25-16 win to force a decisive fifth set.
Syracuse controlled the fifth from the start, riding kills from Emma Williams and Kiernan Stamey to build a 13-7 cushion. Cornell trimmed the deficit to 13-10, but the Orange defense and a Nijenhuis kill pushed the lead back to four, and Syracuse closed out the match 15-11 to take the set and the win.
NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS
Syracuse takes on Arkansas in the ACC/SEC Showdown at the Net match. First serve is set for 6 p.m. on ACCNX.
Keila Gabriel paced the Orange attack with a team-high 16 kills on a .300 hitting clip. Kiernan Stamey turned in a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs, while Emma Williams added 14 kills of her own. Setter Charis Burge orchestrated the offense with 50 assists, and Yuka Urano anchored the back row with a match-high 23 digs. Abby Nicholson led the Orange at the net, factoring into a team-high seven blocks (one solo, six assists).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Syracuse jumped out to an early lead in the opening set behind kills from Stamey and Gabriel, building as much as a 14-10 cushion. Cornell answered with a 5-0 run to tie the set at 16. The two teams traded points and ties at 20-20 and 22-22 before the Orange closed it out on back-to-back kills from Gabriel and Nicholson and a block from Burge and Nicholson to seal a 25-22 opening-set win.
The second set stayed just as back-and-forth. The set was tied at 23-23 late before the Big Red closed it out on consecutive points, evening the match at a set apiece with a 25-23 win.
Set three saw the Orange jump ahead early on kills from Stamey and build a 14-11 lead before Cornell fought back to tie it at 14. From there, the set was back-and-forth with six more ties down the stretch. Syracuse finally broke through, extending past a 24-24 deadlock to close it out 26-24 on a kill from Bella Rodriguez and reclaim the match lead.
Cornell jumped out to a 4-0 lead out of the gate in set four and never let go, tsking a 25-16 win to force a decisive fifth set.
Syracuse controlled the fifth from the start, riding kills from Emma Williams and Kiernan Stamey to build a 13-7 cushion. Cornell trimmed the deficit to 13-10, but the Orange defense and a Nijenhuis kill pushed the lead back to four, and Syracuse closed out the match 15-11 to take the set and the win.
NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS
- Keila Gabriel led all Syracuse hitters with a career-high 16 kills on a .300 hitting percentage.
- Kiernan Stamey recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs.
- Yuka Urano paced the Orange defense with 23 digs.
- Charis Burge dished out 50 assists to run the Syracuse offense, a career high.
- Emma Williams earned a career high with 14 kills.
- Abby Nicholson led Syracuse at the net, factoring into a team-high seven blocks.
- Syracuse and Cornell each finished with four and three team aces, respectively.
Syracuse takes on Arkansas in the ACC/SEC Showdown at the Net match. First serve is set for 6 p.m. on ACCNX.
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
RS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
OH/RS
/ VolleyballTeam Stats
SU
CU
Kills
60
51
Errors
35
19
Attempts
180
166
Hitting %
.139
.193
Points
72.0
66.0
Assists
54
42
Aces
4
3
Blocks
8
12
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Sunday, September 06
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Saturday, September 05
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