MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – The Macalester College volleyball team traveled to Cornell College to take on the Rams and Nebraska Wesleyan Saturday afternoon. The Scots lost to NWU in four sets and to Cornell in five sets to give them a 9-7 record on the year.

Against Nebraska Wesleyan, Macalester cruised to a 25-16 win in the first set. Senior outside hitter Adisa Preston (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie), senior right side Grace Galer (Hanover Park, Ill./Schaumburg) and first year outside hitter Ella Cohen-Richie (Chicago, Ill./Univ. of Chicago Laboratory Schools) each had three kills in the set. After the Prairie Wolves answered with a 25-16 win of their own, the two teams battled in the third set. The score was tied nine times, including at 23, 24, 25 and 26. NWU registered the final two points to take the contested set, 28-26. Another 25-16 win in the fourth set gave the match to the Prairie Wolves.

Preston registered a double-double with 10 kills and 18 digs. Cohen-Richie and junior right side Avery Rahe (Olathe, Kan./Olathe) each had eight kills, while Galer finished with seven kills. Senior middle blocker Stephanie Geber (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo) had four blocks, and senior libero Torrance Williams (Houston, Texas/Yes Prep Northbrook) had 20 digs to lead the defense.

In the match against Cornell, the Scots won the first two sets handily, 25-18 and 25-19. Cohen-Richie tallied four kills in the first set, while Cohen-Richie (six) and Preston (five) combined for 11 kills in the second set. But the Rams forced a fifth set by winning the next two, 25-20 and 25-11. In the fifth set, the score was tied at 6-6 when Cornell reeled off six of the next seven points to lead 12-7 en route to a 15-10 victory. Preston and Cohen-Richie had three kills apiece in the final set.

Cohen-Richie matched her career high with 17 kills, with Preston adding 13 kills and five service aces. Galer contributed eight kills. Senior Nicole Norton (Brussels, Wis./Southern Door) and sophomore Hannah Morrow (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook) split the setting duties, registering 18 and 17 assists, respectively. Williams had 18 digs, Norton had 14 digs and Morrow added 12 digs defensively.

Macalester returns to MIAC play with a match at Bethel University on Wednesday, Oct. 2. The first serve goas up at 7:00 p.m. in Arden Hills, Minn.