MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #18: Cornell at Harvard
MATCH TIME: Friday, Oct. 14, 2011; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Malkin Athletic Center (Cambridge, Mass.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 34-18
LAST MEETING: Harvard won, 3-2, on Oct. 29, 2010
2011 RECORDS: Cornell (2-15, 0-5); Harvard (9-6, 2-3)
LIVE STATS: www.GoCrimson.com
LIVE VIDEO: www.GoCrimson.com

MATCH #19: Cornell at Dartmouth
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011; 5:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Leede Arena (Hanover, N.H.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 36-10
LAST MEETING: Dartmouth won, 3-2, on Oct. 30, 2010
2011 RECORDS: Cornell (2-15, 0-5); Dartmouth (10-6, 2-3)*
LIVE STATS: www.DartmouthSports.com
LIVE VIDEO: www.DartmouthSports.com

* Records prior to Friday, Oct. 14

THE MATCH UP: The Big Red volleyball returns to conference play this weekend as it travels to Harvard and Dartmouth. Cornell (2-15) will face the Crimson on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m., before taking on the Big Green on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. Both live stats and live video streaming will be available online on Harvard and Dartmouth's athletic websites.

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 the past two seasons. Still, Cornell holds a significant lead in the all-time series, leading the Crimson 34-18.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON: After losing to travel partner Dartmouth on the opening weekend of Ivy League play, Harvard has split its last two conference weekends to improve to 9-6 overall and 2-3 in the league. The Crimson have three players averaging more than 2.00 kills per set, led by Taylor Doctor's standard of 2.97, while Teresa Skelly (2.09 kps) has a team-best .293 hitting percentage (122-32-307). Setter Beth Kinsella is handing out 9.82 assists per game and libero Christine Wu ranks 13th in the nation with 5.42 digs per set.

LAST TIME VS. HARVARD: The Big Red dropped a heartbreaker to Harvard on Oct. 29, 2010, falling 3-2 at Newman Arena. Cornell won the second and fourth sets (25-22, 25-23) to force the decisive fifth set, which it lost, 15-11. Harvard won both the first and third sets in convincing fashion, 25-14 and 25-15. Cornell was led by a trio of hitters in double figures – Kelly Hansen (14), Madeleine Przybyl (10) and Erin McCarthy (10). Both Hansen and Przybyl were incredibly consistent, hitting .367 and .364, respectively, while McCarthy posted a double-double with 13 digs. Jordan Reeder also posted a double-double, recording 43 assists and matching libero Taylor Nieman with a team-high 18 digs. Harvard was led by Anne Ingersoll's 17 kills, while Sandra Fryhofer posted 11 kills and a game-high .421 hitting percentage. Four Crimson players posted double-digit digs, led by libero Christine Wu's game-high 21, while setter Beth Kinsella handed out 48 assists and finished with 18 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 36-10 record in the all-time series, winning 19 of the last 23.

SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN: Dartmouth snapped a three-game skid last weekend when it defeated Brown, 3-0, to improve to 10-6 overall and 2-3 in the Ivy League.  The Big Green has a pair of big hitters up front with Madeline Baird averaging 3.50 kills per set and Annie Villanueva ranking 37th in the nation with an impressive .367 hitting percentage (158-35-335). The Dartmouth setting duo of Kendall Houston and Alissa Santa Maria are handing out 8.39 and 8.10 assists per set, respectively, and libero Amber Bryant is averaging 4.48 digs per set.

LAST TIME VS. DARTMOUTH: For the second straight night, the Big Red took a match into the fifth set, but could not pull out the win, falling to Dartmouth, 3-2, on Oct. 30, 2010 at Newman Arena. Each set was closely contested with Cornell winning the first and third (25-23, 25-18) but falling in the second, fourth and fifth (25-23, 26-24, 18-16). Cornell saw a trio of hitters in double-figures, led by Kelly Hansen's 21 kills on 48 attempts with just three errors (.375). Madeleine Przybyl registered 19 kills to go along with nine digs and seven block assists, while Erin McCarthy had a 10-kill, 22-dig double-double. For Hansen and Pryzbyl the kill totals were career-highs, while McCarthy's dig total was a career-high. Alice Cope also had a solid day with eight kills and just one error on 17 attempts for a team high .412 hitting percentage to go along with five total blocks. Jordan Reeder finished with 59 assists, 16 digs and six total blocks, while Taylor Nieman recorded a career-high 28 digs. Risa Ka'awa (15), Sierra Young (10) and Janel Forte (10) also finished with double-digit digs. Dartmouth was led by Madeline Baird's 21-kill, 20-dig performance, while Kelsey Johnson (13 kills, 22 digs) and Lexie Campbell (16 kills, 14 digs) also tallied double-doubles. Alissa Santa Maria ran the offense, registering 57 assists and libero Amber Bryant finished with a team-high 25 digs.

MOVING ON UP: Several Big Red players are steadily making their way up the Cornell career record lists. Senior setter Jordan Reeder ranks eighth all-time in career assists (1821) and 17th overall in career digs (739). She needs just 31 more assists to move into seventh place and 13 more digs to move into 16th place. Senior Risa Ka'awa is ninth all-time in career digs (920) and needs just 33 more to move into 8th place, while senior Madeleine Przybyl is 18th overall in career block assists (152) and needs just four more to move into 17th place.

IN THE BLOCKING RANKS: Cornell is ranked fourth in the Ivy League in blocks (1.97 per set) with junior Alice Cope ranking second in the conference with 1.21 blocks per set.

PRZYBYL POWERING UP: Senior middle blocker Madeleine Przybyl has been on a tear lately, registering double-digit kills in six of the Big Red's last seven matches after registering more than 10 kills just once through the first 10 matches of the season. Through those first 10 matches, Przybyl averaged 1.8 kills per set while hitting just .129 (55-33-171). Over the past six matches, she has recorded 3.00 kills per set and she also has a team-best .270 hitting percentage (87-32-204).

ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM: The Big Red showed some great balance through the first three weekends of the season with three different players earning all-tournament team honors. Sophomore outside hitter Janel Forte was named to the Cornell Invitational All-Tournament team after leading the Big Red over the course of four matches with a .250 hitting percentage and 2.54 kills per set. The following weekend, senior rightside hitter Meagan Tatum was named to the VCU Invitational All-Tournament team. Tatum posted 2.75 kills per set and finished with 1.0 blocks per set. In the final tournament of the season, senior setter Jordan Reeder earned All-Tournament team honors at the Blue and White Classic with 8.55 assists per set.

SEASON OPENERS: Cornell is 27-12-1 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: Seniors Risa Ka'awa, Madeleine Przybyl and Meagan Tatum have been named captains for the 2011 season

FRESH FACES: The Big Red adds four freshmen to the team this season - Sarah Hunt (Arlington Heights, Ill.), Sarah Okey (Clarksville, Md.), Kelly Reinke (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) and Natasha Rowland (Palm Harbor, Fla.). The group is well-balanced, consisting of a middle blocker, an outside hitter, a setter and a libero. The incoming class also draws from three different states, with the group representing Florida, Illinois and Maryland.

HI! MY NAME IS … : There is a new face on the Cornell sideline, as Patrick Lynch joins Coach Sarah Bernson's staff as an assistant coach. He joins the staff while pursuing an MBA in Cornell's Johnson School of Management. Lynch had a four-year career with the University of Illinois men's volleyball club team. During his time with the Fighting Illini, he also spent three seasons as a volunteer assistant for the nationally ranked women's varsity program. After graduating in 2004 with a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology, Lynch became an Infantry Officer with the 1st Marine Division where he led over 300 combat missions in Iraq and was awarded the Navy Commendation and Navy Achievement Medals for actions in combat. Lynch went on to become a Training Officer and eventually an Operations Officer at the Camp Fuji Training Center in Shizouka, Japan.

UP NEXT: The Big Red begins the second half of Ivy League play with a trip to Columbia on Oct. 22. Cornell and the Lions will square off at Levien Gymnasium at 5 p.m.