MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #1: Cornell vs. Delaware State
MATCH TIME: Friday, Sept. 2, 2011; 2:30 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: First Meeting
LAST MEETING: None
2011 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0); Delaware State (0-0)
LIVE STATS: www.CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

MATCH #2: Cornell vs. Texas-El Paso
MATCH TIME: Friday, Sept. 2, 2011; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Texas-El Paso leads, 1-0
LAST MEETING: Texas-El Paso defeated Cornell, 3-0, on Sept. 16, 1995
2011 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0); Texas-El Paso (4-0)
LIVE STATS: www.CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

MATCH #3: Cornell vs. Niagara
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011; 2:30 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 11-0
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 3-0, on Sept. 7, 2007
2011 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0); Niagara (1-2)
LIVE STATS: www.CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

MATCH #4: Cornell vs. American
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: American leads, 3-0
LAST MEETING: American won, 3-0, on Sept. 14, 2007
2011 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0); American (1-1)
LIVE STATS: www.CornellBigRed.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

THE CORNELL INVITATIONAL: The Big Red volleyball team opens its 40th season this weekend as it hosts the Cornell Invitational, welcoming American, Delaware State, Niagara and Texas-El Paso to Newman Arena. The weekend will include a full-slate of games; beginning with Niagara vs. UTEP on Friday, Sept. 2 at noon, before Cornell takes on Delaware State at 2:30 p.m. The afternoon session begins with American vs. Niagara at 5:00 p.m., before the Big Red wraps up the first day of action vs. UTEP at 7:00 p.m. Saturday's action kicks off with Delaware State facing Niagara at 10:00 a.m., before American play UTEP at noon. Cornell will face Niagara at 2:30 p.m., and UTEP takes on Delaware State at 5:00 p.m. The Invitational closes with Cornell taking on American at 7:00 p.m.

THE SERIES VS. DELAWARE STATE: The game against the Hornets will be the first in program history for the Big Red.

SCOUTING THE HORNETS: DSU had its first games of the season cancelled due to Hurricane Irene but are eager to start after coming one victory shy of winning its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title since 1986 a season ago. The team needs to replace four of the top players in program history but despite losing a strong class to graduation, the Hornets return seven letter winners, including four starters, and were predicted to finish second in the MEAC Northern Division according to the 2011 preseason poll.

VS. THE MEAC: Cornell holds an 8-0 record all-time vs. the current members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, thanks mostly to a 7-0 record against Howard. The Big Red is also 1-0 against Morgan State, but has never faced Bethune-Cookman, Coppin State, Delaware State, Florida A&M, Hampton, Maryland Eastern Shore, Norfolk State, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, South Carolina State or Savannah State.

THE SERIES VS. UTEP: Texas-El Paso holds the all-time lead in the series history, 1-0, after winning the lone meeting, 3-0, at the Kansas Invitational on Sept. 16, 1995.

SCOUTING THE MINERS: Head coach Ken Murphy welcomes back nine letter winners from a 2010 squad that went 12-21, including Stephanie Figueroa, a two-time Conference USA Player of the Week and Jeane Horton, a C-USA All-Freshman selection. The Miners opened the season at 4-0, winning the El Paso Sports Commission Invitational title last weekend by defeating Southern, Portland State, Nicholls State and UT-Arlington.

VS. CONFERENCE USA: The Big Red is 3-7 against the current members of Conference USA. Cornell holds a winning record against Marshall (1-0) and Tulsa (1-0) and is an even 1-1 with Southern Methodist. The Big Red has a losing record against Alabama-Birmingham (0-2), East Carolina (0-1), Memphis (0-1), UTEP (0-1) and Rice (0-1) and has never faced Central Florida, Houston, Southern Miss or Tulane.

THE SERIES VS. NIAGARA: Cornell is a perfect 11-0 in the series history with Niagara, with its last victory over the Purple Eagles coming on Sept. 7, 2007. In the past six meetings, dating back to 1999, the Big Red hasn't dropped a set to Niagara.

SCOUTING THE PURPLE EAGLES: Niagara is off to a 1-2 start after defeating Wright State and falling to Toledo and Oakland at the Blue-Gold Invitational last weekend. The two-time defending MAAC champions have been selected as the team to beat according to the conference's 2011 preseason poll and boasts three players on the Preseason All-MAAC Team, including setter Michelle James, who was chosen as the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year for the second straight season. Joining James on the preseason team is outside hitter Hannah Hedrick and middle blocker Amanda Wilken. The trio of Hedrick, James and Wilken were all named to the 2010 All-MAAC First Team, while James is the reigning two-time MAAC Setter of the Year.

VS. THE MAAC: Cornell is 34-7 against the current members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Big Red holds a winning record against Canisius (7-1), Fairfield (2-1), Manhattan (1-0), Marist (1-0), Niagara (11-0), Rider (4-1) and Siena (5-1) and a .500 record vs. Iona (1-1) and Saint Peter's (2-2). Cornell has never faced Loyola in volleyball.

THE SERIES VS. AMERICAN: The Eagles hold a perfect 3-0 record in the series with the Big Red.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES: American boasted a 1-1 record prior to its midweek matchup with Oregon on Wednesday, Aug. 31, opening the season with a loss to George Washington before defeating Georgetown in the DC Volleyball Challenge. The Eagles were unanimously chosen to win the conference in the 2011 Patriot League Preseason Poll, placing the Eagles atop the poll for the 10th time in 11 seasons. American is coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history after capturing its ninth league championship in 10 years and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in 14 years. The Eagles, who rode a program-record 23-match winning streak to a 29-3 overall record in 2010, return five players from last year's squad including seniors Rebecca Heath and Alexandra Hammer. Heath will be looking to bounce back from two injury-plagued seasons after being named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2008. Hammer, meanwhile, led the team with 10.16 assists per game a year ago and added 1.74 digs per game.

VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: The Big Red is 85-36-1 against the current members of the Patriot League, thanks mostly to a 53-26-1 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).

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.

SEASON OPENERS: Cornell is 26-12-1 all-time in season openers. Since 1995, the Big Red is an impressive 13-3 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.

UP NEXT: Cornell will travel to the Virginia Commonwealth Tournament next weekend where it will face the host Rams on Friday, Sept. 9 at 7:00 p.m., before coming back the next day to play George Washington and North Carolina A&T State at noon and 3:00 p.m., respectively.