Volleyball News Releases
Dudgeon is Rams' all-time leader with 1,160 kills
Coming up - Wednesday, Sept. 23, vs. Dubuque, Small Multi-Sport Center, Mount Vernon, 7:30 p.m. (varsity); Friday, Sept. 25, at Wheaton Thunder Invitational, Wheaton, Ill., vs. Wheaton, 3:30 p.m., vs. Edgewood, 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 26, at Wheaton Thunder Invitational, Wheaton, Ill., vs. Benedictine, 10 a.m., vs. Rockford, 12 p.m.; Tuesday, Sept. 29, at Central, Pella, 6 p.m. (JV), 7:30 p.m. (varsity).
Ram rewind - Cornell's Laura Dudgeon (Bettendorf/Bettendorf) picked an appropriate place to slam her 1,152nd career kill last week. The senior middle hitter became the school's all-time kills leader Sept. 17 against Mount Mercy in the Rams' home opener at the Small Multi-Sport Center.
Dudgeon now stands atop Cornell's career list with 1,160 kills. She broke the previous record of 1,151 kills, set by Kori Sims from 2000-04.
"It was a special night to see Laura get the record in front of our home crowd," Cornell head coach Jeff Meeker said. "She has worked very hard to get there and I believe her best play is yet to come."
Cornell improved its season mark to 9-3 with a pair of wins last week. The Rams swept Iowa Conference rival Coe (25-14, 25-21, 25-16) on Sept. 15 in Cedar Rapids. Cornell then needed five sets to take care of Mount Mercy (26-24, 25-14, 24-26, 24-26, 15-4) Thursday in Mount Vernon. The Rams evened their record to 1-1 in IIAC play.
Dudgeon had an impressive week, leading the Rams with 3.62 kills per set and a .431 attack percentage. She posted a match-high 12 kills against Coe and planted 17 more against Mount Mercy.
In the Coe match, Kristin Paczosa (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) and Alissa Benjamin (Lakewood. Colo./De'Evelyn) each had nine kills while Suzi Enoch (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain) added six. Hannah Boehmer (Riverside/Mid-Prairie) dished out 28 assists and Caiti Hladky (Fort Lupton, Colo./Valley) had a team-high 12 digs.
"Beating Coe is always a big deal," Meeker said. "Doing it in a convincing way where we played great team volleyball was extra special."
Dudgeon was one of five Rams to deliver double-digit kills against Mount Mercy. The balanced attack had Paczosa with 15, Enoch 14, Benjamin 12 and freshman Morgan May (Dubuque/Wahlert) 10. The Rams posted a solid .344 attack percentage. Hladky came away with 24 digs. Boehmer had 45 assists and tied Paczosa for the team lead with three aces.
"Our win over Mount Mercy was the type of test that our team needed," Meeker said. "Mount Mercy is a much-improved team. I was very impressed with how we took control in set 5. I thought Suzi played her best match of the season."
Date with Dubuque - Cornell resumes conference play Wednesday against the Dubuque Spartans, who are 5-6 overall, 0-2 in the IIAC. The Rams swept the Spartans, 3-0, last year in Dubuque. Prior to last year's match, Dubuque had won 13 of the last 15 meetings between the two clubs.
500-kill club - Enoch last week became the fourth player on Cornell's active roster to reach 500 career kills, currently with 503. Benjamin joined the club two weeks ago, now with 536. Paczosa has 1,097 kills, only 63 behind Dudgeon.
2,000-assist mark - Boehmer last week became the third Ram in school history to top 2,000 assists in a career, currently with 2,017. The junior setter trails only Heather Secrist (2,314 assists, 1996-99) and Hope Coffin (3,477 assists, 2004-07) on the career chart.
Sweeping away - Of Cornell's nine wins this fall, seven of them have been sweeps. Mount Mercy is the only opponent to take the Rams to five sets. Cornell beat Milwaukee School of Engineering in four sets on Sept. 12.
IIAC leaders - Cornell remains the IIAC leader in hitting percentage (.287) and aces per set (2.2). Dudgeon tops all conference players in hitting percentage (.469) and kills per set (3.67).
Live webcast - Fans can watch Wednesday's match against Dubuque online via live webcast at www.cornellcollege.edu/athletics/streaming/index.shtml. Cornell's student-based radio station, KRNL (FM 89.7), will provide the play-by-play and color during the webcast.
