Cornell Invitational Information
Match #8: Cornell vs. Robert Morris
Match Time: 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008
Site: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2008 Records: Cornell 1-6, Robert Morris 8-4
Series Record: Series tied, 2-2
Last Meeting: Sept. 14, 2002; Robert Morris won, 3-1
Live Stats

Match #9: Cornell vs. Columbia
Match Time: 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008
Site: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
2008 Records: Cornell 1-6, Columbia 5-2
Series Record: Cornell leads, 42-4
Last Meeting: Nov. 5, 2008; Cornell won, 3-0
Live Stats
Live Video


Track the Action
All three matches of the Cornell Invitational will be available with live stats on Saturday. Live video of Cornell's match against Columbia will also be available as part of Cornell REDCast. All of the Big Red's home matches against Ivy League opponents will be video streamed live this season.

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 64-46 overall record with Cornell and has led the Big Red to three Ivy League titles and two NCAA tournament appearances.

Taking on the Colonials
Robert Morris comes to East Hill with an 8-4 record to open its season. The Colonials dropped its last match to Pittsburgh, 3-0, on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The RMU offense is led by Emily Wolthuis with 2.73 kills per set. Amanda Graham is averaging 2.63 kills per set while hitting .395, and she also leads the team in blocks with 0.71 per set. Alaina Gibson has a team-high 4.34 digs per set, and Alyssa Bennett averages 9.90 assists per set.

Scouting the Lions
Columbia will play Robert Morris at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday before facing the Big Red in the evening. The Lions notched a 3-1 victory against Saint Francis (Pa.) in its last match and went 2-1 at the Saint Francis Invitational. Amalia Viti is Columbia's biggest offensive threat, averaging 4.00 kills per set with 12 aces for the season. Sarah Thompson leads her team at the net with 0.88 blocks per set, while Ellie Thomas has 3.59 digs per set for the Lions' back row. Alex Marchyshyn averages 6.27 assists per set.

Last Time Against Columbia
The Big Red went 2-0 against the Lions last season and blanked Columbia, 3-0, in its last home match of the season on Nov. 5. Alessa Cekauskas led Cornell with a match-high 16 kills while hitting .414, and Juliana Rogers had five blocks. Libero Megan Mushovic propelled the Big Red defense with 37 digs. Amalia Viti had 10 kills for the Lions.

Where We Rank…
Freshman middle blocker Kelly Hansen leads the Ivy League with an average of 1.00 blocks per set, while libero Megan Mushovic holds the top spot in digs per set with 5.27. Senior Emily Borman ranks seventh with a .299 hitting percentage, and freshman Megan Tatum sits in ninth with 2.93 kills per set.

Oh What a Career…
Entering the match vs. Robert Morris, junior libero Megan Mushovic has 1,200 digs for her Big Red career. Mushovic currently ranks third in the career record books, and only needs 156 more to tie Kelly Kramer's 1,356 at the top of the list.

Fresh Faces
The Big Red added six members to its roster as the class of 2012. The group 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 a first-team All-Ivy nod 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
After last weekend, Megan Mushovic ranked 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 will face off against Columbia again on Saturday, Oct. 4 at Columbia. Cornell will follow with a 2 p.m. match on Sunday at Long Island.