MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #20: Cornell at Columbia
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011; 5:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Levien Gymnasium (New York, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 46-7
LAST MEETING: Columbia won, 3-2, on Sept. 24, 2011
2011 RECORDS: Cornell (3-16, 1-6); Columbia (11-6, 5-2)
LIVE STATS: www.GoColumbiaLions.com
LIVE VIDEO: www.GoColumbiaLions.com

THE MATCH UP: The Big Red volleyball team opens up the second half of conference play this weekend as it travels to Columbia on Saturday, March 22. The game is slated to begin at 5 p.m. Both live stats and live video streaming will be available online at www.GoColumbiaLions.com.

THE SERIES VS. COLUMBIA: Cornell has dominated the series with Columbia, owning a 46-7 record vs. the Lions all-time. However, Columbia won the meeting earlier this season at Newman Arena, reversing the recent trend in which the Big Red and the Lions each won on their home courts in 2009 and 2010.

SCOUTING THE LIONS: Columbia (11-6, 5-2) had a three-game winning streak snapped last weekend when it fell to Harvard, 3-0, in Cambridge, Mass. The Lions have proven to be a team that is very consistent on offense, with four players ranked in the top 10 of the Ivy League in hitting percentage, and a force defensively, as it leads the league in team blocks (2.51 blocks per set).  Megan Gaughn is arguably Columbia's best all-around player, averaging 3.35 kills per set and 2.78 digs per set, while Savannah Fletcher has a team-best .347 hitting percentage. Colleen Brennan (7.50 assists per set) shares the setting duties with Kelsey Musselman (4.52 aps) and libero Charlee Dyroff ranks fifth in the Ivy League with 4.81 digs per set.

LAST TIME VS. COLUMBIA: After winning the first two sets by identical scores of 25-21, the Big Red volleyball team dropped three straight to Columbia, losing 3-2 in Newman Arena. The Lions took the final three sets, 25-13, 25-23, 15-10. Cornell was led by Madeleine Przybyl's 16-kill, 14-dig double-double, while Kelly Marble (13), Janel Forte (13) and Meagan Tatum (12) all finished with double-figure kills for the Big Red. Senior setter Jordan Reeder tallied 30 assists, as she split time with freshman Kelly Reinke, who registered 25. Reeder also had 10 digs, while Reinke chipped in nine and senior libero led the team with 24 digs on the evening. Columbia was lead by Megan Gaughn's 14 kills as the only Lion to reach double-digits. The setting tandem of Colleen Brennan and Kelsey Musselman finished with 37 and 16 assists, respectively, and libero Charlee Dyroff had a match-high 30 digs. Guaghn (15), Brennan (11) and Nicole Goldhaber (11) all collected double-digit digs for the Lions.

MOVING ON UP: Several Big Red players are steadily making their way up the Cornell career record lists. Senior setter Jordan Reeder ranks seventh all-time in career assists (1862) and 16th overall in career digs (759). She would need 299 more assists to move into sixth place but just seven more digs to move into 15th place. Senior Risa Ka'awa is eighth all-time in career digs (958) and needs just 39 more to move into seventh place, while senior Madeleine Przybyl is 16th overall in career block assists (156) and needs 33 more to move into 15th place.

IN THE BLOCKING RANKS: Cornell is ranked fourth in the Ivy League in blocks (2.04 per set) with junior Alice Cope ranking second in the conference with 1.30 blocks per set.

PRZYBYL POWERING UP: Senior middle blocker Madeleine Przybyl has been on a tear lately, registering double-digit kills in seven of the Big Red's last eight 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 2.97 kills per set and she also has a team-best .254 hitting percentage (107-41-260).

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 opens a four-game home stand next weekend as it welcomes Brown and Yale to Newman Arena on Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29, respectively. Cornell will face the Bears at 7 p.m., while the game with the Bulldogs is slated to begin at 5 p.m.