MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #11: Cornell vs. Columbia
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010; 2:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 45-6
LAST MEETING: Columbia won, 3-1, Sept. 25, 2010
2010 RECORDS: Cornell (2-8, 0-1 Ivy); Columbia (8-2, 1-0 Ivy)
LIVE STATS: www.CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: www.CornellBigRed.com

THE MATCH-UP: The Big Red volleyball team returns home for the first time in nearly a month when it welcomes Columbia to Newman Arena for the return trip of the teams' home-and-home season series. The match is slated for Saturday, Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. Cornell fell to the Lions last weekend, 3-1, in New York City to fall to 2-8 on the year (0-1 Ivy), while Columbia ran its winning streak to eight matches to improve to 8-2 overall (1-0 Ivy).


THE SERIES VS. COLUMBIA: Cornell has dominated the series with Columbia, owning a 45-6 record vs. the Lions all-time. However, in the teams' first meeting last season, the Big Red had a 15-game winning streak vs. Columbia snapped and has gone 1-2 in the last three meetings.

SCOUTING THE LIONS: After opening the season with back-to-back losses at the St. John's Tournament, Columbia has rattled off eight straight victories to improve to 8-2 on the year. Last weekend, the Lions opened the Ivy League season by defeating Cornell, 3-1. Megan Gaughn leads the squad with 3.71 kills per set and ranks second overall with 2.91 digs per set. She also has a team-high 11 service aces on the season. Colleen Brennan and Kelsey Musselman have split the setting duties, averaging 7.27 and 5.03 assists per set, respectively. Defensively, Katherine Keller is posting 3.81 digs per set, while the duo of Savannah Fletcher (27) and Madeline Rumer (24) lead the team in total blocks.

LAST TIME VS. COLUMBIA: The Big Red got off to a quick start, winning the first set, but couldn't hold off a surging Columbia team, falling to the Lions, 3-1. Set scores were 25-21, 15-25, 13-25 and 20-25. Janel Forte led the Big Red with 16 kills and a .303 kill percentage, while Deveney Pula chipped in 10 kills. Setter Jordan Reeder had a double-double with 39 assists and 13 digs, while Risa Ka'awa led the team with 14 digs. Columbia was led by Megan Gaughn with 21 kills and just three errors on 45 attempts for a .400 hitting percentage. Gaughn also posted 15 digs. Colleen Brennan and Kelsey Musselman handed out 30 and 17 assists, respectively and Katherine Keller had a game-high 18 digs.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DENIZEN: Jordan Reeder has posted an assist-dig double-double in six-of-10 matches this season. She is the only Big Red player to record a double-double on the year.

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 four of the last five matches.

IN THE RANKINGS: In the latest NCAA rankings, Risa Ka'awa ranks 59th in the nation with 4.8 digs per set.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DIGS: Junior libero Risa Ka'awa has posted double-digit digs in all 10 of the Big Red's matches this season.

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 has 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 hits the road next weekend for a pair of games at Dartmouth and Harvard. Cornell will take on the Big Green on Friday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m., before facing the Crimson on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m.