ITHACA, N.Y.—The Cornell volleyball team is set to play its first home match of the season on Wednesday night when it will play host to Syracuse in Newman Arena at 6:30 p.m. The Big Red will look to pick up a midweek win before welcoming Robert Morris and Columbia for the Cornell Invitational on Saturday.
Match #7: Cornell vs. Syracuse
Match Time: 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008
Site: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2008 Records: Cornell 1-5, Syracuse 6-8
Series Record: Syracuse leads, 29-9-1
Last Meeting: Oct. 23, 2007, Syracuse won 3-1
At the Helm
Deitre Collins-Parker, the Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach of Volleyball, returns for her fifth season with the Big Red. Collins-Parker has a 64-45 overall record with Cornell and has led the Big Red to three Ivy League titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Taking on the Orange
Syracuse heads to East Hill with a 6-8 record and has won its last two matches. Last Saturday, the Orange defeated Princeton, 3-0, before playing past Colgate by a 3-1 score. Sarah Morton leads her team with 2.92 kills per set with a .375 hitting percentage, and she also has a team-high 1.12 blocks per set. Teammate Kacie MacTavish averages 2.53 kills per set.
Last Time Out
The Big Red finished in third place at the UConn Toyota Classic last weekend with a 1-2 record. Cornell picked up its first win of the season with a 3-2 victory over Maine on Saturday night. Freshman Meagan Tatum led the Cornell offense with a match-high 14 kills, while Emily Borman totaled 13, hitting .500. Rookie Kelly Hansen posted nine blocks for Cornell, while Hilary Holland and Megan Mushovic each had 21 digs. Mushovic was named to her second all-tournament team after averaging 4.22 digs per set.
Where We Rank…
Freshman middle blocker Kelly Hansen leads the Ivy League with an average of a block per set, while libero Megan Mushovic holds the top spot in digs per set with 5.09. Mushovic also ranks fourth in aces with 0.39 per set. Senior Emily Borman ranks sixth with a .338 hitting percentage, and freshman Megan Tatum sits in ninth with 2.92 kills per set.
Oh What a Career…
Entering the match vs. the Orange, junior libero Megan Mushovic has 1,180 digs for her Big Red career. Mushovic currently ranks third in the career record books, and only needs 176 more to tie Kelly Kramer's 1,356.
Fresh Faces
The Big Red added six members to its roster as the class of 2012. The class hails from six different states and includes two outside hitters, two middle blockers, a setter and a defensive specialist.
Ivy Awards
Cornell returns two All-Ivy honorees to its roster this season. Libero Megan Mushovic earned first-team All-Ivy after leading the league with 6.16 digs per set. Mushovic earned second-team honors as a rookie. Middle blocker Emily Borman led the Big Red last season with 1.08 blocks per set, which placed her fourth in the Ancient Eight, earning her second-team honors.
She's Our Captain
Senior Hilary Holland will serve as the Big Red's captain this season. Cornell's veteran setter will look to help the Big Red in all aspects of play. Holland notched a career-high 21 digs in Cornell's 3-2 win over Maine on Sept. 20 at the UConn Toyota Classic.
Nationally Speaking
Megan Mushovic ranks 15th in the nation with 5.09 digs per set this season. Her 6.16 digs per set last season ranked her eighth in the nation. In her sophomore season, Mushovic also led the country in digs in a match with 50 against Harvard on Oct. 12, 2007.
Looking Ahead…
The Big Red plays host to the Cornell Invitational this Saturday when it will face Robert Morris at 10 a.m. and Columbia at 7 p.m.
