MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #1: Cornell vs. Morehead State
MATCH TIME: Friday, Sept. 4, 2009; 4:30 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Recreation Athletic Complex (Fairfax, Va.)
SERIES RECORD: Morehead State leads, 2-0
LAST MEETING: Morehead State defeated Cornell, 1-3, on Nov. 7, 1998
2009 RECORDS: Cornell 0-0; Morehead State 3-0
LIVE VIDEO: None
MATCH #2: Cornell vs. George Mason
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009; 12:30 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Recreation Athletic Complex (Fairfax, Va.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 2-1
LAST MEETING: George Mason defeated Cornell, 3-0, on Sept. 10, 1994
2009 RECORDS: Cornell 0-0; George Mason 2-2
LIVE VIDEO: None
MATCH #3: Cornell vs. Kent State
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009; 4:30 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Recreation Athletic Complex (Fairfax, Va.)
SERIES RECORD: Kent State leads, 3-0
LAST MEETING: Kent State defeated Cornell, 3-0, on Sept. 7, 2001
2009 RECORDS: Cornell 0-0; Kent State 0-5
LIVE VIDEO: None
MATCH NOTES
THE PATRIOT INVITATIONAL: The Big Red volleyball team opens its 38th season this weekend as it travels to Fairfax, Va., to participate in the George Mason Patriot Invitational. Cornell opens the weekend of competition against Morehead State on Friday, Sept. 4 at 4:30 p.m. The next day, the Big Red will face the host Patriots at 12:30, before wrapping up the Invitational later that afternoon against Kent State at 4:30 p.m.
SCOUTING MOREHEAD STATE: The Eagles are off to a 3-0 start to the season after defeating James Madison, Chattanooga and East Tennessee all in straight sets. Ellie Roberson and Kaitlin Craven lead the team offensively with 3.22 and 3.00 kills per set, respectively, while Kristie Brangers is averaging 9.78 assists per set. Defensively, Kristina Schoo is averaging a team-best 4.56 digs per set.
THE SERIES VS. THE EAGLES: The Big Red has faced Morehead State twice previously, with the Eagles holding the 2-0 lead in the series. Morehead State one both the 1994 and 1998 meetings, 3-1.
SCOUTING GEORGE MASON: After opening the season with a pair of victories over American and Georgetown, the Patriots dropped their next two contests to George Washington and No. 11 Minnesota to fall to 2-2 on the season. Setter Frenanda Bartels is averaging 8.43 assists per set and ranks second on the team with 2.36 digs per set. Holly Goode leads the team with 3.14 kills per set, while Koala Matsuoka averages 2.64 digs per set.
THE SERIES VS. THE PATRIOTS: Cornell holds a 2-1 edge in the series with George Mason. The Big Red won the first two meetings (3-2 in 1989 and 3-1 in 1990), before dropping a 3-0 decision in 1994.
SCOUTING KENT STATE: The Golden Flashes have dropped the first five matches of the season, including Wednesday evening's 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh. Meredith Paskert is leading the Kent State offense with 3.00 kills per set, while Liva Brivule is averaging 2.50. On defense, Lauren Jones is posting 3.28 digs per set.
THE SERIES VS. THE GOLDEN FLASHES: Kent State has defeated the Big Red in all three previous match-ups. The Golden Flashes beat Cornell 3-1 in 1990, 3-2 in 2000 and 3-0 in 2001.
MEET THE NEW BOSS: After serving as an assistant coach for the past five seasons, Sarah Bernson was named the ninth Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach of Volleyball at Cornell. In her five seasons with the Big Red, Bernson helped the program to three Ivy titles (2004, 2005, 2006) and two NCAA tournament appearances (2005 and 2006). She has helped develop 16 All-Ivy performers over that span. Bernson was in charge of the program's recruiting and worked with the outside hitters, including the Big Red's all-time kills leader and first volleyball All-American in school history, Elizabeth Bishop '07.
HI! MY NAME IS: There is a new face on the Cornell sideline, as Chris Duenow, the all-time winningest head volleyball coach at Concordia University (Ore.), joins Coach Bernson's staff as an assistant coach. Duenow was the head coach at Concordia for seven seasons, posting a 108-89 record overall and a 73-39 mark in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, including the 2002 league title. That 2002 team went 24-3 overall and posted a perfect 18-0 league mark, extending its conference win streak to 65 regular season victories. He helped mentor 14 first-team all-league selections, six first-team all-region picks, one All-American and one conference Rookie of the Year.
SEASON OPENERS: Cornell is 25-11-1 all-time in season openers. Since 1995, the Big Red is an impressive 12-2 in the first match of the season.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Seniors
Megan Mushovic and
Juliana Rogers have been named co-captains for the 2009 season. Mushovic has been one of the top liberos in the nation over the past three seasons, while Rogers became one of the top offensive weapons for the Big Red as a junior leading the team in kills per set (2.66) and placing second in total kills (221).
RECORD SETTER:
Three-time all-conference libero Megan Mushovic set the Cornell record for career digs last season, tallying 1,612 digs in just three years. Up next is the Ivy League record for career digs, as Mushovic needs just 150 more to surpass Brown's Tomo Nakanishi '99 at 1,762 … Mushovic also owns the top two spots in Cornell's list of single season digs, with 598 in 2007 and 549 in 2008
DIG IT: Senior
Megan Mushovic has ranked among the national leaders in digs during all three of her seasons, posting 5.60 digs per set to rank fifth nationally last year. She was as consistent as any defensive player in the country in 2008, reaching double figures in digs in 24 of 25 matches on the season.
FRESH FACES: The Big Red adds seven freshmen to the team this season -
Sydney Campbell,
Alice Cope,
Hanna Drake,
Taylor Nieman,
Deveney Pula,
Ana Vanjak,
Lucy Zheng. Among the seven, five are taller than 5'10", with three of those five standing 6'2" or taller. The incoming class also draws heavily on key volleyball-playing states, as four of the players hail from California, with another two from Texas. The seventh, Vanjak, is originally from Croatia but has lived in Germany for the past few years.
RECAPPING 2008: The Big Red volleyball team closed out its 2008 season tied for third place in the Ivy League with a 9-5 record and was 10-15 overall for the season.
Megan Mushovic,
Emily Borman and
Hilary Holland each earned All-Ivy honors following the season. Mushovic was named first-team for the second-straight season at libero after leading the league in digs. Borman received second-team honors at middle blocker, and Holland was an honorable mention selection at the setter position.
UP NEXT: Cornell will travel down I-81 next weekend to participate in the Binghamton Invitational. The Big Red will open the weekend against Farleigh Dickenson on Friday, Sept. 11 at 4:30 p.m. The next day, Cornell will take on Towson at 10:30 a.m., before facing the host Bearcats at 6 p.m.
