Box Score

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa - The Ripon volleyball team suffered just its second conference loss of the season Friday night, losing to Midwest Conference-leading Cornell College, who entered the game ranked 22nd in the latest NCAA Division-III Top 25 Poll. The Red Hawks lost the first set 25-10, before putting up more of a fight in the second and third sets, losing 25-17 and 25-23, respectively.

Cornell (22-3, 8-0 MWC) recorded double-digit kills in each set, while Ripon (13-13, 5-2 MWC) accomplished that feat in the third set only when they posted 15 kills. The Red Hawks were led by Allison Barnes' 11 kills, while Emily Gary registered eight kills and three block assists. Karlye Wehner was third on the team with five kills. Abbi Williamson led the Red Hawks in assists with 22, while Wylie Gahart was the team leader in digs with 16.

Kathleen O'Conner led Cornell with a match-high 16 kills, while Taylor Dicus posted six kills and six blocks (three solo). Katherine Devlin finished with a match-high five service aces, while Kylea Weber led the way with 23 digs.

With the loss, Ripon now drops to fourth place in the MWC standings with three matches to play and remain one game ahead of Lake Forest for the fourth and final MWC Tournament spot. The Red Hawks will be in action again on Saturday when they'll travel to Grinnell College. That match will begin at 1 p.m. in Grinnell, Iowa and can be seen live on http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/ripon.portal#.