MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #18: Cornell vs. Harvard
MATCH TIME: Friday, Oct. 29, 2010; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 34-17
LAST MEETING: Harvard won, 3-1, Oct. 9, 2009 in Cambridge, Mass.
2010 RECORDS: Cornell (4-14, 2-6 Ivy); Harvard (6-14, 3-5 Ivy)
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball/index.htm
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.cornellbigred.com/showcase/

MATCH #19: Cornell vs. Dartmouth
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010; 5:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 36-9
LAST MEETING: Dartmouth won, 3-2, Oct. 8, 2009 in Hanover, N.H.
2010 RECORDS: Cornell (4-14, 2-6 Ivy); Dartmouth (12-7, 3-5 Ivy) *
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball/index.htm
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.cornellbigred.com/showcase/

* Records prior to Friday evening's contests

THE MATCH-UP: The Big Red looks to build on the momentum of a strong outing last weekend as it plays host to Harvard and Dartmouth at Newman Arena on Friday, Oct. 22 and Saturday, Oct. 23, respectively. Cornell will face the Crimson at 7 p.m., while the game with the Big Green is slated to begin at 5 p.m. Harvard ended a three-match losing streak last week when it defeated Brown to improve to 6-14 on the season (3-5 Ivy League). Dartmouth has lost five straight matches since beating Cornell on Oct. 8, running its record to 12-7 overall and 3-5 in the Ivy League.

DIG PINK: On Friday vs. Harvard the Big Red will once again participate in the Side-Out Foundation's Dig Pink National Breast Cancer Awareness Rally, a unified nationwide effort to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Fans are encouraged to come out, wear pink and cheer the Big Red on to victory as it plays host to Harvard at Newman Arena at 7 p.m. Admission will be free for anyone wearing pink to the game. Cornell will also be asking for donations during the event, but anyone who cannot make it to the game can donate online at: http://www.side-out.org/application/teams/team_page/3708


LAST WEEKEND:

THE SERIES VS. HARVARD: Cornell and Harvard first met in 1977, a 2-0 Big Red victory. Cornell went on to win the next 10 contests before the Crimson earned its first win in the series during the 1988 campaign. The Big Red had won nine straight meetings, dating back to Oct. 9, 2004, before Harvard earned a series sweep last year and won the first meeting this season. Still, Cornell holds a significant lead in the all-time series, leading the Crimson 34-17.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON: Harvard ended a three-match losing streak last week when it defeated Brown, 3-1, to improve to 6-14 (3-5 Ivy League) on the season. The Crimson is led by Anne Ingersoll with 2.24 kills per set, while libero Christine Wu is averaging 4.25 digs per set. Harvard has split time between a pair of setters with senior Beth Kinsella and freshman Natalie Doyle averaging 6.84 and 4.81 assists per game, respectively.

LAST TIME VS. HARVARD: The Big Red won the opening set, but couldn't hold on as Harvard rebounded for the 3-1 victory on Oct. 9 at the Malkin Athletic Center in Cambridge, Mass. Cornell won the first set, 25-17, before being narrowly defeated 25-23, 26-24 and 25-20. Madeline Przybyl led the Big Red with 12 kills to go along with a .333 hitting percentage, five block assists and four digs. Kelly Hansen also had a solid night with nine kills and four block assists. Setter Jordan Reeder finished with 34 assists and matched Taylor Nieman with a team-high 12 digs. Risa Ka'awa also chipped in 11 digs for the Big Red. Taylor Docter led all hitters with 13 kills and hitting .314 for the match. She also added two blocks and six digs. Beth Kinsella dished out 43 helpers and Anne Ingersoll contributed 12 kills and three blocks. Libero Christine Wu and Miyoko Petite each tallied 10 digs.

THE SERIES VS. DARTMOUTH: Cornell's series with Dartmouth began in 1981 and the Big Red has dominated from the beginning, winning the first 13 meetings before falling to the Big Green for the first time on Oct. 12, 1996. Cornell owns a 36-9 record in the all-time series, winning 19 of the last 22.

SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN: Dartmouth has lost five straight matches since beating Cornell on Oct. 8, running its record to 12-7 overall and 3-5 in the Ivy League. The Big Green is led by Madeline Baird, who is averaging 3.92 kills and 3.53 digs per set. A pair of setters average more than nine assists per set, with Alissa Santa Maria leading the way at 9.12, while Kendall Houston is right behind at 9.10. Libero Amber Bryant ranks 28th in the nation with 5.18 digs per set, leading four Big Green players that average more than two digs per set.

LAST TIME VS. DARTMOUTH: The Big Red stormed out to an early two-set lead, but could not hold on as it fell to Dartmouth, 3-2, on Oct. 8 at Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H. Cornell won the first two sets, 25-13 and 25-20, before dropping the next three, 25-17, 25-23 and 15-12. Cornell was led by Kelly Hansen's 19 kills. The junior middle blocker went 19-for-41 with just five errors for a .341 hitting percentage, while racking up two block assists. Joining her in double-digit kills was Janel Forte with 13 and Alice Cope led the team in hitting percentage, hitting .412 after registering seven kills on 17 attempts with no errors.
For the second straight match, the Big Red tallied more than 100 team digs, led by Risa Ka'awa's 31. Jordan Reeder chipped in 15 and Deveney Pula, Madeleine Przybyl and Erin McCarthy had 10 digs apiece. Reeder also registered 49 assists, while Pryzbyl led the team with four block assists. Dartmouth was led by Madeline Baird's 16-kill, 27-digs double-double. Annie Villanueva chipped in 11 kills and five block assists, while Elisa Scudder added five block assists to go with Kelsey Johnson's four. The setting duo of Alissa Santa Maria and Kendall Houston handed out 27 and 16 assists, respectively.

IVY RANKINGS: Cornell players rank among the top 10 in the Ivy League in several statistical categories, including:
* Kelly Hansen – Kills Per Set – 10th – 2.58
* Jordan Reeder – Assists Per Set – 6th – 8.64
* Jordan Reeder – Service Aces Per Set – 9th – 0.23
* Madeleine Przybyl – Blocks Per Set – 8th – 0.93
* Madeleine Przybyl – Hitting Percentage – 10th – .266
* Alice Cope – Blocks Per Set – 10th – 0.89
* Risa Ka'awa – Digs Per Set – 7th – 4.09

MAY I ASSIST YOU?: With her 32 assists against Penn on Oct. 22, Jordan Reeder surpassed Sara Thomson (1,143 assists; 1992-94) to move into 10th place in Cornell history for career assists. The junior setter is one of just three players in the top 10 with less than 250 career sets, as she has accumulated 1,201 assists in just 235 sets. Reeder needs just 150 more assists to edge Amy Korioth (1,350 assists; 1988-90) and move into ninth place.

BLOCK PARTY: Kelly Hansen currently sits in 15th place in Cornell history for block assists with 185. She needs just four more to move up to 14th place, surpassing Robin Moore (1997-2000) and nine more to move into the top 10.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DENIZEN: Jordan Reeder has posted an assist-dig double-double in 9-of-18 matches this season. She was the only Big Red player to record a double-double on the year, before Deveney Pula (23 kills, 18 digs) and Rachel D'Epagnier (11 kills, 11 block assists) registered their first of the season vs. Columbia on Oct. 2.

COMING ON STRONG: After recording less than seven kills per match through the first five matches of the season, freshman Janel Forte has come on strong, reaching double-digit kills in six of the last 13 matches.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DIGS: Junior libero Risa Ka'awa has posted double-digit digs in 13-of-18 matches this season.

HITTING HIGHS: The Big Red recorded a team hitting percentage of .233 against Brown on Oct. 16, the highest hitting percentage so far this season. It is only the second time since the start of the 2009 season that Cornell has hit that well against an Ivy League team (.266 vs. Columbia on Oct. 3).

BLOCKING BROWN: Cornell registered 14 total blocks against Brown on Oct. 16, which matched a season-high for the squad. The Big Red had previously recorded 14 team blocks against Colgate.

100 DIGS: Cornell recorded 101 digs against Columbia on Oct. 2, reaching the century mark in a match for the first time since registering 103 digs vs. Yale on Nov. 3, 2007. One week later, Cornell tallied 101 digs vs. Dartmouth, giving the Big Red 100+ digs in back-to-back matches for the first time since 2007.

SECOND TIME'S THE CHARM: For the second straight season, the Big Red has fallen to Columbia in New York City, only to come back and defeat the Lions the following weekend on its home court at Newman Arena.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Freshman Rachel D'Epagnier became Cornell's first Ivy League Rookie of the Week in volleyball since Katie Marshall was honored on Nov. 14, 2007. The freshmen middle blocker earned the honor after posting an 11-kill, 11-block double-double in the Big Red's 3-2 victory over Columbia on Oct. 2. In that match she also led Cornell with a .450 hitting percentage (11-2-20).

BLOCKS A LOT: Rachel D'Epagnier led the Big Red with 11 block assists against Columbia on Oct. 2. The 11 block assists rank ninth in Big Red history for block assists in a single match and are the most registered by a Cornell player since Kelly Hansen tallied 11 at Penn on Nov. 11, 2008.

BIG HITTER: Deveney Pula tallied a career-high 23 kills vs. Columbia on Oct. 2, the most kills registered by a Big Red player since Katie Marshall tallied 23 vs. Brown on Oct. 20, 2007.

BEATING THE BIG EAST: Cornell's 3-2 victory over UConn at the Colgate Invitational marked the Big Red's first win over a Big East school since it defeated Syracuse, 3-0, on Oct. 24, 2006 at Newman Arena. Since that time, Cornell had gone 0-4 against the Big East, with three loses against the Orange and one against the Huskies.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: The Big Red saw four different players named to three different all-tournament teams earlier this season. Kelly Hansen and Jordan Reeder were selected to the Cornell Invitational all-tournament team, while Risa Ka'awa and Madeleine Przybyl were named to the Best Western Falcon Invitational all-tournament team and the Colgate Invitational all-tournament team, respectively.

MARATHON MATCHES: When the Big Red faced Lamar in the final round of the Cornell Invitational on Sept. 4, the game proved to have the longest fifth set (by points) in Cornell history. The match, which went to 23-21 in the final set, eclipsed the previous record by four points. Prior to the Lamar match, the longest fifth set took place at Harvard on Nov. 10, 2007, when Cornell defeated the Crimson, 19-17.

SEASON OPENERS: With its victory over Siena in the opening round of the Cornell Invitational, the Big Red improved to 26-12-1 all-time in season openers. Since 1995, the Big Red is an impressive 14-3 in the first match of the season.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Senior Erin McCarthy and junior Meagan Tatum have been named captains for the 2010 season

FRESH FACES: The Big Red adds six freshmen to the team this season - Rachel D'Epagnier, Janel Forte, Brittany Fox, Ainsley Lovejoy, Kelly Marble and Sierra Young. All six are taller than 5-11, with two of those six standing 6-1 or taller. The incoming class also draws from six different states, with the group representing Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

HI! MY NAME IS … : There is a new face on the Cornell sideline, as Kate Seabaugh, a former standout player at UConn, joins Coach Sarah Bernson's staff as an assistant coach. She joins the staff while working towards a Master of Engineering degree with a concentration in Financial Engineering at Cornell. Prior to Cornell, Seabaugh was a starter for UConn, where she was an outside hitter, but completed her undergraduate honors finance degree in three years, cutting her playing career short. She helped the Huskies advance to the Big East tournament in each of her three seasons and totaled 621 kills and 625 digs in 90 matches played.

UP NEXT: The Big Red travels to Princeton and Penn next weekend as it faces the Tigers on Friday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m., and the Quakers on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 5 p.m.