MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #12: Cornell vs. Yale
MATCH TIME: Friday, Sept. 28, 2012; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Yale leads, 32-25
LAST MEETING: Yale won, 3-0, Oct. 29, 2011
2012 RECORDS: Cornell (3-8, 0-1); Yale (5-5, 1-0)
Live Stats: http://sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball/scoreboard.aspx
Live Video: http://www.cornellbigred.com/showcase/

MATCH #13: Cornell vs. Brown
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012; 5:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 37-19
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 3-1, Oct. 28, 2011
2012 RECORDS: Cornell (3-8, 0-1); Brown (3-7, 0-1)*
Live Stats: http://sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball/scoreboard.aspx
Live Video: http://www.cornellbigred.com/showcase/

* Records prior to games on Friday, Sept. 28

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Big Red is celebrating 40 Years of Cornell Volleyball this weekend as it welcomes the program's alumni, Yale and Brown to Newman Arena. The Big Red will face the Bulldogs on Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m., before taking on the Bears on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 5 p.m. Live stats and live video will be available for the contest at CornellBigRed.com.

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 eight meetings, improving its lead in the all-time series to 32-25.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Yale has won its last two outing to even its record at 5-5 overall (1-0 Ivy).  The Bulldogs potent attack has five players averaging more than two kills per set, including Mollie Rogers, who lead the team and ranks second in the Ivy League with 3.00 kills per set. Kendall Polan and Kelly Johnson split the setting duties and average 7.17 and 5.29 assists per set, respectively, while Maddie Rudnick leads the team in digs, averaging 4.34 per set.

LAST TIME VS. YALE: The Big Red fell to Yale, 3-0, at Newman Arena on Oct. 29, 2011. The Bulldogs earned the straight set victory (25-12, 25-20, 25-19) behind the strength of a team hitting percentage of .207. Mollie Rogers led the way with 12 kills and just one error on 28 attempts (.393), while Allie Frappier ended the night with eight kills. Setter Kendall Polan handed out 26 assists and posted a team-high 14 digs for a double-double, while libero Maddie Rudnick finished with 11 digs. Cornell was led by Madeliene Pryzbyl's nine kills and 11 digs, while Rachel D'Epagnier had a solid day at the net, finishing with seven kills, a team-high .385 hitting percentage (7-2-13) and two solo blocks. Both setters, Kelly Reinke and Reeder finished with 13 assists and libero Risa Ka'awa had a match-high 24 digs.

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 37-19 record in the all-time series, winning 17 of the last 23 meetings, including five of the last eight contests.

SCOUTING THE BEARS: Brown has lost its last four contests to slip to 3-7 on the season (0-1 Ivy). Maddie Lord leads the team and ranks sixth in the Ivy League with 2.88 kills per set and Taylor Bantle has proven to be one of the most efficient hitters in the conference, ranking third overall with a .394 hitting percentage. Setter Alexandra Rieckhoff averages 6.47 assists per set and libero Kathryn Conner ranks third in the Ivy League with 4.47 digs per set. 

LAST TIME VS. BROWN: Behind the strength of a solid offense and a scrappy defensive effort, the Big Red defeated Brown, 3-1, in Newman Arena. Cornell jumped out to a two-set lead (25-19, 25-16) before falling in the third set (25-17). The deciding fourth set was a tense battle, as the Big Red came back to earn the 25-23 victory. Cornell was led by Kelly Marble and Madeleine Przybyle, who registered 13 and 12 kills, respectively. The duo also led the team in hitting percentage, with Marble registering a mark of .275 (13-2-40) and Przybyl hitting .222 (12-4-36). It was the Big Red defense that kept the home team in the match, however, compiling 114 digs on the evening, led by libero Risa Ka'awa's 31. Jordan Reeder finished with 23 digs, while Przybyl and Natasha Rowland tallied 13 digs apiece. Janel Forte and Kelly Reinke also registered double-digit digs with 11 each. Setters Reinke and Reeder also handed out 20 and 13 assists, respectively. Brown was led by Katrina Post's 21 kills and .206 hitting percentage (21-7-68). Setter Alexandra Rieckhoff finished with 41 assists and libero Annika Gliottone posted a match-high 33 digs.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose is in her first season at Cornell (3-8, .273) ... Batie-Smoose became the 10th coach in Cornell volleyball history in April 2012 ... She has an 90-70 (.563) record as a head coach, including a mark of 81-43 (.653) at Savannah College of Art & Design.

40 YEARS OF BIG RED VOLLEYBALL: This weekend, the Big Red will be celebrating 40 years of volleyball at Cornell.

FRESHMAN FIRST: Freshman Breanna Wong currently leads the Big Red with 2.88 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 10th in the nation in service aces with 1.73 per set. Kelly Marble leads the conference and is 15th in the country with 0.51 per set. In all, Cornell has four players ranked in the top 10 of the Ivy League with Marble joined by Kelly Reinke (2nd – .036), Ainsley Lovejoy (7th – 0.29), and Rachel D'Epagnier (7th – 0.29)
 
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.
*Kelly Reinke – second in assists per set (9.17)
*Rachel D'Epagnier – fourth in blocks per set (1.10)
*Breanna Wong – fifth in kills per set (2.88)
*Rachel D'Epagnier – seventh in hitting percentage (.340)

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.

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 first full road Ivy weekend is next on tap with the Big Red travelling to Penn (Oct. 5) and Princeton (Oct. 6). The Quakers dominated the series with Cornell throughout the 1970s and '80s, accounting for its 37-23 all-time lead, but since 2000 the series has been much more competitive with Penn owning the slim 10-9 advantage. The Tigers, on the other hand, have a commanding 45-17 record all-time, and have won the last 10 meetings.