MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #11: Cornell vs. Princeton
MATCH TIME: Friday, Oct. 4, 2013; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Princeton Leads, 46-18
LAST MEETING: Cornell, 3-1; Nov. 9, 2012
2013 RECORDS: Cornell (4-6; 1-0 Ivy); Princeton (5-6; 1-0 Ivy)*
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball/
Live Video: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com

MATCH #12: Cornell vs. Penn
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013; 5:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Penn leads, 38-24
LAST MEETING: Cornell, 3-1; Nov. 10, 2012
2013 RECORDS: Cornell (4-6; 1-0 Ivy); Penn (6-6; 0-1 Ivy)*
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball/
Live Video: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com

* Records prior to Oct. 4

THE MATCHUP: The Big Red volleyball team will host Princeton and Penn this weekend as Ivy League continues. Cornell will face the Tigers on Friday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m., before taking on the Quakers on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. Both games will be live streamed on the Ivy Digital Network. Cornell is coming off an impressive five-set come-from-behind victory over Columbia in the conference opener for both teams last weekend.

THE SERIES VS. PRINCETON: Cornell's series with Princeton began in the 1974 season, a 2-0 Big Red victory. The Tigers have dominated the series since, owning a 46-18 record against Cornell, and had won the last 11 straight meetings until Cornell was victorious in the final weekend of the season last year.

LAST TIME VS. PRINCETON: The Big Red volleyball team had a win six years in the making when it knocked off second-place Princeton in the second to last game of the 2012 season. The Big Red defeated the Tigers in four sets. Rachel D'Epagnier had a match-high 17 kills, Kelly Reinke came three short of a career high with 53 assists and Brittany Kalepa led the way with 23 digs. Kelly Marble (14 kills, 13 digs) and Sierra Young (11 kills, 13 digs) each had a double-double, and Breanna Wong added 16 kills as Cornell knocked off the Tigers for the first time since the 2006 season.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Princeton will arrive in Ithaca holding a 5-6 record (1-0 Ivy League), coming off a five set victory against Penn in its Ivy League opener. The Tigers have played only one other game not part of a tournament, a loss when they were swept at home by Seaton Hall in mid-September. The squad has been out-hit, out-served, and out-blocked by the competition. The Tigers are undefeated in matches that last five sets (2-0) but are just 3-6 in three- and four-set matches. Princeton has been plagued by slow starts, winning only four of 11 first sets. Kendall Peterkin leads the offensive attack with 3.81 kills per set. She also has been lethal from the service line, ranked 15th in the country with 0.50 aces per set. The Tigers have two competent setters in Lauren Miller and Ginny Willis, averaging 7.70 and 5.22 assists per set, respectively. Sarah Daschbach leads Princeton's defensive effort averaging a solid 3.95 digs per set. Nicole Kincade has just a shade under a block per set.

THE SERIES VS. PENN: Like the series with Princeton, 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 38-24 all-time lead, but since 2000 the series has been much more equal with Penn owning a slim 11-10 advantage.

LAST TIME VS. PENN: Cornell ended the 2012 season with a bang, sending its two seniors out with a 3-1 victory over Penn. The win earned the Big Red its first Ivy League weekend sweep since ending the 2008 season with wins against Harvard and Dartmouth. The upset was spearheaded by Breanna Wong's 18 kills. The then-freshman rightside hitter posted an incredible .405 hitting percentage, but that wasn't even the best performance that night. Rachel D'Epagnier connected on .591, registering 13 kills and no errors on 22 attempts. Kelly Marble rounded out the Big Red that hit in double-figures with 13 kills and five errors on 35 attempts for a .229 hitting percentage. She also tallied 12 digs and three block assists.

SCOUTING THE QUAKERS: Penn won a midweek matchup against Big Five foe La Salle to even its record at 6-6 (0-1 Ivy) after dropping a 3-2 decision to Princeton in its Ivy League opener last weekend. Cornell and Penn have one mutual opponent this season, LIU-Brooklyn, who beat each school 3-2. Penn is nearly statistically even with their 2013 opponents aside from a severe deficit in total blocks. Kristen Etterbeek (2.69 kills per set) and Jasmine DeSilva (2.67 kills per set) lead the attack, while Alex Caldwell and Ronnie Bither average 5.85 and 4.90 assists per set, respectively. Dani Shepherd is the squad's most effective server averaging 0.50 service aces per set and leads Penn with 5.64 digs per set, a number that would lead the Ivy League if not for the fact that she has only played in 22-of-52 sets, well short of the 66.7 percent required to be listed in the rankings.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose is in her second season at Cornell (13-22, .371) ... Batie-Smoose became the 10th coach in Cornell volleyball history in April 2012 ... She has a 100-84 (.543) record as a head coach, including a mark of 81-43 (.653) at Savannah College of Art & Design.

CLIMBING TO 100: Coach Melissa Batie-Smoose notched the 100th victory of her coaching career in the Ivy League opener against Columbia.

DIG IT: Junior libero Natasha Rowland entered the weekend first in the Ivy League and ranked 54th in the nation in digs per set (4.69) … She posted a career-high 36 digs vs. Columbia on Sept. 28, a mark that is tied for sixth best all-time in Cornell history for digs in a five-set match. Her previous high of 34 digs vs. Rutgers on Sept. 21 is tied for 11th all-time in a five-set match, while her 33 digs vs. LIU Brooklyn is tied for 13th best for digs in a five-set match.

YOU'VE BEEN SERVED: Senior Sierra Young entered the week ranked 59th in the nation in service aces per set (0.40).

IN THE RANKINGS: Several Cornell players are raked in the top 10 of various Ivy League statistical categories, including:
*Macey Wilson – eighth in hitting percentage (.279)
*Breanna Wong – fourth in kills per set (3.00)
*Kelly Marble – sixth in kills per set (2.85)
*Alyssa Phelps – second in assists per set (8.52)
*Sierra Young – fifth in service aces per set (0.40)
*Rachel D'Epagnier – third in blocks per set (1.00)
*Natasha Rowland – first in digs per set (4.69)
*Kelly Marble – fourth in points per set (3.26)
*Breanna Wong - sixth in points per set (3.18)

THE BIG BLOCKER: Sept. 7 was a big day for freshman Macey Wilson. The middle blocker had back-to-back games in which she posted a career-high nine block assists. With her nine blocks vs. Iona, she placed ninth in Cornell history for blocks in a four-set match, while her nine stops against Bucknell is good for 15th place in Big Red history for blocks in a five-set match.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For the first time in her young career, Breanna Wong was named the Ivy League Player of the Week on Sept. 17. It is the first conference weekly award earned by Wong, who becomes the Big Red's first Player of the Week selection since Rachel D'Epagnier earned the honor in the final week of the 2012 season. Wong led the Big Red with 3.64 kills per set while hitting .301 in the Blackbird Invitational. She was particularly impressive in Cornell's victory over Fairfield, posting a team-high 12 kills (4.0 per set) and hitting .450.

ALL-TOURANMENT TEAM:
* Rachel D'Epagnier and Breanna Wong were both named to the Cornell Invitational All-Tournament Team.
*Breanna Wong was named to the Blackbird Invitational All-Tournament Team after leading the Big Red to a 1-2 record on the weekend including a sweep and a heart-breaking loss.
*Rachel D'Epagnier and Breanna Wong were both named to the Panther Invitational All-Tournament Team.

ON THE BLOCK: Senior Rachel D'Epagnier is steadily moving up the Cornell all-time list for career blocks. She currently ranks 7th overall in block assists (218), 11th overall in total blocks (257) and 14th in block solos (39).

UP NEXT: Cornell will hit the road for weekend contests at Harvard and Dartmouth. The Big Red will take on the Crimson on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7:00 p.m., before travelling north to Hanover, N.H. to take on the Big Green the following day at 5:00 p.m.