MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #14: Cornell at Penn
MATCH TIME: Friday, Oct. 5, 2012; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: The Palestra (Philadelphia, Pa.)
SERIES RECORD: Penn leads, 37-23
LAST MEETING: Penn won, 3-0, Nov. 12, 2011
2012 RECORDS: Cornell (4-9, 1-2); Penn (6-8, 1-2)
Live Stats: PennAthletics.com
Live Video: PennAthletics.com

MATCH #15: Cornell at Princeton
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012; 5:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Jadwin Gym (Princeton, N.J.)
SERIES RECORD: Princeton leads, 45-17
LAST MEETING: Princeton won, 3-0, Nov. 11, 2011
2012 RECORDS: Cornell (4-9, 1-2); Princeton (6-7, 3-0)*
Live Stats: GoPrincetonTigers.com
Live Video: GoPrincetonTigers.com

* Records prior to games on Friday, Oct. 5

ITHACA, N.Y. – The first full road Ivy weekend is next on tap for the Big Red volleyball team, who travels to Penn on Friday, Oct. 5 and Princeton on Saturday, Oct. 6. Cornell will take on the Quakers at the Palestra at 7 p.m., before facing the Tigers at Jadwin Gym at 5 p.m. Both schools will run live stats and live video (pay-per-view) on their respective websites.

THE SERIES VS. PENN: Cornell and Penn first met in 1974, a 2-0 Big Red victory. The Quakers went on to dominate the series for the rest of the 1970s and '80s, accounting for its 37-23 all-time lead, but since 2000 the series has been much more equal with Penn owning a slim 10-9 advantage.

LAST TIME VS. PENN: The Big Red had its season come to a conclusion on Nov. 11, 2011 when it fell to Penn, 3-0, at the Palestra. The Quakers took the straight set victory, 25-17, 25-17, 25-19. With the loss, Cornell ended the season with a 5-21 record overall and a mark of 3-11 in the Ivy League. Janel Forte and Madeleine Przybyl both finished the night with six kills to lead the Big Red, with Przybyl also registering a team-high .235 hitting percentage (6-2-17) and three block assists. Meagan Tatum also chipped in five kills. Freshman setter Kelly Reinke tallied 17 assists and a team-high 10 digs, while senior setter Jordan Reeder posted nine assists and seven digs. Defensively, the Big Red was hurt by the absence of senior libero Risa Ka'awa, who missed the contest. Penn was led by Kristen Etterbeek and Amanda Pacheco with 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Pacheco was also the most consistent Quaker hitter on the evening, posting a .450 hitting percentage (12-3-20). Overall, only one Penn player had a negative hitting percentage, leading to a team mark of .297 (44-14-101). Meghan Connolly finished the night with 24 assists, while Hilary Ash posted 13 to run the Quaker offense. Defensively, Emma White (16) and Dani Shepherd (14) tallied double-digit digs.

THE SERIES VS. PRINCETON: Like the series with Penn, Cornell's series with Princeton began in the 1974 season, a 2-0 Big Red victory. The Tigers have dominated the series, owning a 45-17 record against Cornell, and have won the last nine meetings.

LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON: Princeton defeated Cornell, 3-0, on Nov. 10, 2011 at Jadwin Gym. The Tigers took the straight-set victory, 25-16, 25-21, 25-19. Cornell was led by Kelly Marble with 11 kills, while Meagan Tatum had a solid night, hitting .238 with seven kills (7-2-21). Setter Jordan Reeder finished with 15 assists, while Kelly Reinke posted a 14-assist, 12-dig double-double. Libero Risa Ka'awa was the only other Big Red player to finish with double-digit digs (10). Princeton was led by Lydia Rudnick and Cathryn Quinn with 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Rudnick also hit a match-high .400 (13-1-30), followed closely by Quinn's .304 performance (12-5-23), helping the Tigers to a .250 hitting percentage for the match. Setter Michaela Venuti handed out 41 assists and libero Hilary Ford finished with a match-high 23 assists. Rudnick and Venuti also chipped in 13 digs apiece.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose is in her first season at Cornell (4-9, .308) ... Batie-Smoose became the 10th coach in Cornell volleyball history in April 2012 ... She has a 91-71 (.562) record as a head coach, including a mark of 81-43 (.653) at Savannah College of Art & Design.

FRESHMAN FIRST: Freshman Breanna Wong currently leads the Big Red with 2.94 kills per game. If she finishes the season with the most kills on the team she will be just the fourth Cornell freshman since 1987 to achieve that feat, joining Debbie Quibell (2000), Liz Bishop (2006) and Deveney Pula (2009).

YOU'VE BEEN SERVED: The Big Red currently ranks first in the Ivy League and 17th in the nation in service aces with 1.63 per set. Kelly Marble leads the conference and is 14th in the country with 0.49 per set. In all, Cornell has three players ranked in the top 10 of the Ivy League with Marble joined by Kelly Reinke (3rd – .035) and Rachel D'Epagnier (7th – 0.31)

IN THE RANKINGS: In addition to the team's outstanding serving, several Big Red players are ranked among the top 10 in several other categories.
*Rachel D'Epagnier – fifth in hitting percentage (.338)
*Breanna Wong – fifth in kills per set (2.94)
*Kelly Marble – ninth in kills per set (2.69)
*Kelly Reinke – second in assists per set (9.29)
*Rachel D'Epagnier – fourth in blocks per set (1.14)

DID YOU KNOW??:
* Sierra Young is part of Cornell's Sustainable Design group, which is working to create affordable housing in the form of a 30-house cooperative in Nicaragua.
* Breanna Wong has two different size feet. Her left foot is a women's size 9, while her right foot is a 10.5.
* Ana Vanjak is fluent in five languages (Croatian, German, English, Spanish, Latin) and working on a sixth (French).
* Brittany Kalepa was part of the Kamehameha School's Children's Choir, which recorded music for Disney's Lilo & Stitch.
* Rachel D'Epagnier runs Cornell's chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and took a sports mission to Costa Rica this past summer to teach volleyball.
* Senior setter Lucy Zheng has published two research articles and is working on a third.

FIRST WIN: Head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose earned her first win with the Big Red in a 3-2 triumph over Bucknell on Sept. 7 at Fordham's Rose Hill Classic. There was plenty to like in the victory, including the team's tenacious attack. The Big Red rallied from an 0-2 deficit for the second time in the span of six hours to force a fifth set, but this time was able to close out the win after dropping a 3-2 contest in the morning session to the host Rams.

ALL-TOURNEY TEAM:
* Rachel D'Epagnier was named to the Omni Hotel Colorado Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team. Over the course of the weekend, the junior middle blocker averaged 1.67 kills per set, while hitting a team-best .375. She also added 11 total blocks (four solo, seven assisted).
* Kelly Reinke was named to Fordham's Rose Hill All-Tournament Team. Through four games, the sophomore setter averaged 8.06 assists per set to go along with 2.28 digs per set. She also collected seven service aces and eight block assists.
* Rachel D'Epagnier was named “Best Blocker” at the Temple Invitational, while Kelly Marble earned “Best Server” honors.

SEASON OPENERS: Cornell is 27-13-1 all-time in season openers. Since 1995, the Big Red is an impressive 14-4 in the first match of the season.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Brittany Fox '14, Kelly Marble '14 and Kelly Reinke '15 have been named captains for the 2012 season.

FRESH FACES: The Big Red adds four freshmen to the team this season - Brittany-Ann Kalepa (Honolulu, Hawaii), Shannon O'Brien (Naperville, Ill.), Brittany Ward (Friendswood, Texas) and Breanna Wong (Highlands Ranch, Colo.). The group consists of two defensive specialists, a middle/outside hitter, and a rightside/outside hitter. The incoming class also draws from four different states, with the group representing Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois and Texas.

KIDS IN THE HALL: Jaimee Reynolds '02, who played both volleyball and women's lacrosse at Cornell, has been selected for induction into the Cornell University Athletic Hall of Fame at the 36th annual ceremonies to be held Friday, Nov. 2 on the Cornell campus. The first four-time All-American in women's lacrosse and the third in any women's sport at Cornell, Reynolds was one of three finalists for national player of the year as a senior. Reynolds also lettered four times in volleyball and her 1,023 assists at setter in 2001 ranks among the top 10 marks in school history. She was the NCAA New York Woman of the Year and one of 10 finalists for NCAA Woman of the Year in 2002 and was a Honda Award finalist that same season.

UP NEXT: The Big Red returns home for its final non-conference game in a midweek matchup with Binghamton, as it welcomes the Bearcats to Newman Arena on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m.