MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #7: Cornell vs. Connecticut
MATCH TIME: Friday, Sept. 17, 2010; 3:30 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Cotterell Court (Hamilton, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 4-2
LAST MEETING: UConn won, 3-1, on Sept 19, 2008
2010 RECORDS: Cornell (1-5); UConn (2-5)
LIVE STATS: www.sidearmstats.com/colgate/wvball
LIVE VIDEO: None

MATCH #8: Cornell vs. Akron
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010; 10:00 a.m.
MATCH SITE: Cotterell Court (Hamilton, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Akron leads, 4-0
LAST MEETING: Akron won, 3-1, on Sept. 16, 1994
2010 RECORDS: Cornell (1-5); Akron (5-4)
LIVE STATS: www.sidearmstats.com/colgate/wvball
LIVE VIDEO: None

MATCH #9: Cornell at Colgate
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Cotterell Court (Hamilton, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 53-25-1
LAST MEETING: Colgate won, 3-1, Sept. 18, 2009
2010 RECORDS: Cornell (1-5); Colgate (5-5)
LIVE STATS: www.sidearmstats.com/colgate/wvball
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.gocolgateraiders.com/showcase/#liveevents

THE COLGATE INVITATIONAL: The Big Red volleyball team travels up the road to Hamilton, N.Y. this weekend to take part in the Colgate Invitational. Cornell will play three games over a two-day span, beginning with a contest against UConn on Friday, Sept. 17 at 3:30 p.m. The following morning, the Big Red will take on Akron at 10 a.m., before facing the host Raiders in the tournament finale at 7 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:

THE SERIES VS. UCONN: The Big Red holds the all-time advantage in the series with UConn, 4-2, but the Huskies have won the last two outings, including a 3-1 triumph in the last meeting on Sept. 19, 2008 at the UConn Toyota Classic.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: After winning its first two matches of the season, UConn has dropped its last five to fall to 2-5. Through its first six matches, UConn split its setting duties between Allison Nickel (3.55 assists per set) and Jordan Kirk (3.18 aps), but in the Huskies' last outing Angela Roidt made her UConn debut and posted a match-high 25 assists. Kirk, an outside hitter, is averaging a team-high 2.23 kills per set, while Rebecca Murray is averaging 2.18. Defensive specialist Kelsey Maving ranks seventh in the nation with 5.68 digs per set.

VS. THE BIG EAST: Cornell is 22-46-1 against the current members of the Big East, thanks mostly to a 22-46-1 record against Syracuse. UConn is the only team that the Big Red has a winning record against (4-2), but Cornell has an even slate against Notre Dame (1-1), Providence (1-1), Rutgers (2-2), Seton Hall (2-2) and Villanova (2-1). The Big Red has a losing record against Georgetown (1-2), Louisville (0-1) and St. John's (0-2), but has never faced Cincinnatti, DePaul, Marquette, Pittsburgh, South Florida or West Virginia.

THE SERIES VS. AKRON: The Zips hold the 4-0 advantage in the all-time series against Cornell, but the teams have not met since 1994, when Akron defeated the Big Red 3-1 at the Georgetown Tournament.

SCOUTING THE ZIPS: Akron brings a two-match winning streak to Cotterell Court as it improved to 5-4 on the season with a pair of victories at its home invitational last weekend. The Zips offense runs through setter Morgan Kuhn, who is averaging 8.79 assists per set. Kuhn's favorite targets with 288 attempts apiece are Courtney Jarvis and Alex Cocklin. The duo leads the team in kills with 3.24 and 2.72, respectively. On defense, Chelsea Harvey is leading the team with an impressive 4.38 digs per set, while four other Zips average more than 2.00 digs per set.

VS. THE MAC: Cornell is 15-14 against the current members of the Mid-American Conference, thanks mostly to a 14-4 record against Buffalo. The Big Red also has a winning record against Western Michigan (1-0), but a losing mark against Akron (0-4), Bowling Green (0-1), Central Michigan (0-1) and Kent State (0-4). Cornell has never faced Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, Ohio or Toledo.

THE SERIES VS. COLGATE: The Big Red has a history of success against the Raiders, holding a 53-25-1 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to 1972, the very first season of varsity volleyball in Cornell history. The Raiders currently hold a three-match winning streak in the series with the Big Red's last victory coming during the 2005 season.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS: Colgate pulled its record to an even 5-5 with a pair of victories last weekend at the Niagara/Canisius Invitational. The Raiders have three players averaging more than 2.0 kills per set, with Maureen Colligan leading the way (2.35). Kaylee Fifer, the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Week, runs the Colgate offense, posting 5.86 assists per set, while libero Devon Applegate is averaging 3.55 digs per set.

VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: The Big Red is 85-35-1 against the current members of the Summit League, thanks mostly to a 53-25-1 record over Colgate. Cornell also has a winning record against Army (6-1), Bucknell (11-1), Holy Cross (4-0), Lafayette (4-1) and Lehigh (5-2). The Big Red's series with Navy is tied at 2-2, while American is the only team in the Patriot League with a winning record against Cornell (3-0).

IN THE RANKINGS: In the latest NCAA rankings, Risa Ka'awa ranks 27th in the nation with 5.30 digs per set.

DON'T I KNOW YOU?: UConn will see a familiar face on the Big Red sideline this weekend, as former Huskie standout Kate Seabaugh is currently serving as an assistant coach for the Cornell volleyball team. Seabaugh was a starting outside hitter for UConn and helped the Huskies advance to the Big East tournament in each of her three seasons.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: The Big Red placed a pair of players on the Cornell Invitational all-tournament team, as Kelly Hansen and Jordan Reeder were selected by the participating schools' head coaches. Hansen led the team with 39 kills (3.00 kills per set) on 92 attempts with just seven errors for a .348 hitting percentage. She also registered 12 blocks (0.92 blocks per set). Reeder finished the Invitational with 80 assists (6.5 assists per set), 40 digs (3.08 per set), seven kills, five blocks and four service aces.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM, PART II: Risa Ka'awa was named to the all-tournament team after her performance at the Best Western Falcon Plaza Invitational. The junior libero was all over the court, averaging an impressive 5.4 digs per set. She was also on the receiving end of 73 serves and handled all but eight for a serve reception percentage of .890. Ka'awa also handed out nine assists over the course of the three matches, by far the most by any player other the Big Red setter Jordan Reeder.

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 remains on the road for the third consecutive weekend as it travels to New York City to face Columbia in both teams' first Ivy League match of the year. Cornell will meet the Lions at Levien Arena on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 2 p.m.