MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #10: Cornell at Columbia
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012; 2:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Levien Gymnasium (New York, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 46-8
LAST MEETING: Columbia won, 3-0, Oct. 22, 2011
2012 RECORDS: Cornell (2-7, 0-0); Columbia (5-4, 0-0)
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ITHACA, N.Y. – The Big Red volleyball team opens the Ivy League portion of its schedule this weekend as it travels to New York City to face Columbia at Levien Gymnasium on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. Cornell split a pair of games last weekend to improve to 2-7 on the season, while the Lions are on a three-match winning streak to improve to 5-4. 

THE SERIES VS. COLUMBIA: Cornell has dominated the series with Columbia, owning a 46-8 record vs. the Lions all-time. However, Columbia won both meetings last season and the teams split their matches during the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

LAST TIME VS. COLUMBIA: The Big Red began the second round of Ivy League action with a 3-0 loss to Columbia on Oct. 22, 2011 in Levien Gymnasium in New York, N.Y. The Lions continued to stay in the Ivy title race by taking the straight set victory: 25-22, 25-18, 25-14. Cornell was led by Rachel D'Epagnier with a team-high seven kills, a .312 hitting percentage (7-2-16) and eight blocks (seven block assists, 1 solo block). Setters Kelly Reinke and Jordan Reeder finished with 13 and 11 assists, respectively, and libero Risa Ka'awa posted a team-best 15 digs. Columbia was led by Heather Braunagel's 15 kills and .478 hitting percentage (15-4-23) while Megan Gaughn finished the day with a 12-kill, 12-dig double-double. Gaughn was one of four Lions with double-digit digs, joining Charlee Dyroff (24), Colleen Brennan (11) and Madeline Rumer (10). Brennan also handed out 44 assists.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose is in her first season at Cornell (2-7, .222) ... Batie-Smoose became the 10th coach in Cornell volleyball history in April 2012 ... She has an 89-69 (.563) record as a head coach, including a mark of 81-43 (.653) at Savannah College of Art & Design.

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.

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.

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.

40 YEARS OF BIG RED VOLLEYBALL: This season, the Big Red will be celebrating 40 years of volleyball at Cornell. The team will have a an official celebration in conjunction with its annual Alumni Weekend, to be held when it plays host to Yale on Friday, Sept. 28 and Brown on Saturday, Sept. 29.

UP NEXT: Cornell will finally play its home-opener in a midweek contest against in-state rival Colgate on Tuesday, Sept. 25. The Big Red has a history of success against the Raiders, holding a 53-27-1 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to 1972, the very first season of varsity volleyball. The Raiders, however, currently hold a five-match winning streak in the series with the Big Red's last victory coming during the 2005 season.