MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #13: Cornell at Yale
MATCH TIME: Friday, Sept. 30, 2011; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Lee Amphitheater (New Haven, Conn.)
SERIES RECORD: Yale leads, 30-25
LAST MEETING: Yale won, 3-0, on Nov. 13, 2010
2011 RECORDS: Cornell (2-10, 0-1); Yale (7-4, 1-0)
LIVE STATS: http://livestats.prestosports.com/yale/
LIVE VIDEO: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/yale.portal#

MATCH #14: Cornell at Brown
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011; 4:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Pizzitola Center (Providence, R.I.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 36-18
LAST MEETING: Brown won, 3-0, on Nov. 12, 2010
2011 RECORDS: Cornell (2-10, 0-1); Brown (4-8, 0-1)*
LIVE STATS: http://livestats.prestosports.com/brown/
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.brownbears.com/multimedia/schedule

* Prior to games played on Sept. 30

THE MATCH UP: The Big Red volleyball team takes to the road to face Yale and Brown in its first full weekend of Ivy League action. Cornell faces the Bulldogs on Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m., before taking on the Bears on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 4 p.m. Both games will be available via live stats and live video streaming, available through Yale and Brown's respective websites.

THE SERIES VS. YALE: Cornell and Yale first met in 1976, a 2-0 Bulldog victory. Yale went on to win the next four contests before the Big Red earned its first win in the series during the 1981 campaign. The Bulldogs have won the past six meetings, improving its lead in the all-time series to 30-25.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: After having a three-game winning streak snapped by Albany in a midweek matchup, Yale responded by defeating Brown in its Ivy League opener last weekend to improve to 7-4 overall and 1-0 in the conference. The Bulldogs are the reigning Ivy League champions and they are led by the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year, setter Kendall Polan, who leads the conference with 10.32 assists per set. Yale has five players averaging more than 2.00 kills per set, led by Mollie Rogers with 3.15 and Allie Frappier with 2.51. Rogers also averages 3.68 digs per set, second only to libero Maddie Rudnick with 3.95.

LAST TIME VS. YALE: The Big got solid efforts from its pair of seniors – Erin McCarthy and Alessa Cekauskas – in the final game of their careers, but it wasn't enough to upset Ivy League leading Yale at Newman Arena. The Bulldogs clinched at least a share of the Ivy crown with a straight set victory, winning 25-20, 25-21, 25-21. Cornell was led by Kelly Hansen's 12 kills and .276 hitting percentage (12-4-29), while Cekauskas and McCarthy added six kills apiece. McCarthy also led the squad with a team-high 12 digs. Setter Jordan Reeder finished with 27 assists and six digs, and proved to made solid decisions on attack with three kills and no errors on nine attempts (.333). Yale was led by a trio of hitters in double figures, including Bridget Hearst (11), Erica Reetz (10) and Taylor Cramm (10). Kendall Polan split the setting duties with Kerry Clavadetscher and posted 27 assists and a game-high 18 digs, while Clavadetscher finished with 19 assists and nine digs. Libero Kelly Ozuroich and Katie Cordell tallied 16 and 12 digs, respectively.

THE SERIES VS. BROWN: Cornell's series with Brown began in the 1976 season and the Big Red has dominated from the beginning, winning the first seven meetings before falling to the Bears for the first time in 1984. Cornell owns a 36-18 record in the all-time series, winning 16 of the last 21 meetings, including four of the last six contests

SCOUTING THE BEARS: Brown lost a pair of games last week, dropping decisions to Rhode Island and Yale to fall to 4-8 overall and 0-1 in the Ivy League. The Bears have a powerful attack combination with the second ranked hitter in the Ivy League – Maddie Lord – and the third ranked setter in the conference – Alexandra Rieckhoff. Lord is averaging 3.72 kills per set, while Rieckhoff is handing out 9.68 assists per set. Defensively, libero Annika Gilottone is fourth in the Ivy League with 5.30 digs per set.

LAST TIME VS. BROWN: The Big Red battled with Brown, but in the end, the Bears proved to be too much, beating the home team in straight sets: 25-21, 25-18, 25-20. Cornell was led by Kelly Hansen's nine kills, while Madeleine Przybyl chipped in six kills and three block assists. Setter Jordan Reeder tallied 27 assists, eight digs and two block assists, while Erin McCarthy added 14 digs. Libero Taylor Nieman led the team with 17 digs. Brown was led by Katrina Post and Brianna Williamson with 12 and 11 kills, respectively, with Williamson adding 15 digs. Annika Gliottone had a game-high 19 digs and Alexandra Rieckhoff registered 36 assists.

MOVING ON UP: Several Big Red players are steadily making their way up the Cornell career record lists. Senior setter Jordan Reeder ranks ninth all-time in career assists (1677) and 19th overall in career digs (664). She needs just 21 more assists to move into eighth place and two more digs to move into 18th place. Senior Risa Ka'awa is 14th all-time in career digs (801) and needs just 55 more to move into 13th place, while senior Madeleine Przybyl is 19th overall in career block assists (135) and needs just five more to move into 18th place.

IN THE RANKINGS: Cornell is ranked fourth in the Ivy League in service aces (1.19 per set) and fifthe overall in blocks (1.99 per set). Junior Alice Cope is fifth in the league in blocks (1.05 per set), while sophomore Kelly Marble is sixth in the conference in service aces (0.33 per set).

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 returns home next weekend to take on Penn and Princeton at Newman Arena. Cornell will face the Quakers on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m., before taking on the Tigers on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 5 p.m.