MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #11: Cornell at Harvard
MATCH TIME: Friday, Oct. 11, 2013; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Malkin Athletic Center (Cambridge, Mass.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell Leads, 36-20
LAST MEETING: Harvard, 3-0; Nov. 3, 2012
2013 RECORDS: Cornell (5-7); Harvard (6-6)*
Live Stats: http://livestats.prestosports.com/harvard 
Live Video: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com

MATCH #12: Cornell at Dartmouth
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013; 5:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Berry Sports Center (Hanover, N.H.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell Leads, 38-12
LAST MEETING: Cornell, 3-0; Nov. 2, 2012
2013 RECORDS: Cornell (4-6, 2-1); Dartmouth (7-8, 0-3)*
Live Stats: www.DartmouthSports.com
Live Video: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com

* Records prior to Oct. 11


ITHACA, N.Y. – The Big Red volleyball team will hit the road this weekend as it continues Ivy League play, heading East to face Harvard on Friday, Oct.11 at 7 p.m., before traveling to Dartmouth the following evening for a 5 p.m. contest. Both games will be broadcast as part of the Ivy League Digital Network.

THE SERIES VS. HARVARD: Cornell and Harvard first met in 1977, a 2-0 Big Red victory. Cornell went on to win the next 10 contests before the Crimson earned its first win in the series during the 1988 campaign. The Big Red had won nine straight meetings, dating back to Oct. 9, 2004, before Harvard earned a series sweep in both the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Cornell returned to its winning ways with a sweep of the Crimson in 2011, however, Harvard got its revenge by winning both meetings last year.

LAST TIME VS. THE CRIMSON: Kelly Marble and Sierra Young combined for 21 kills, but Harvard's hot-hitting attack proved too much in a 3-0 sweep of Cornell on Nov. 3, 2012 at Malkin Athletic Center. The Crimson completed the season sweep with the 25-22, 25-18, 25-19 victory behind 13 kills and seven digs from Kathleen Wallace on .462 hitting. As a team, the Crimson swung at .367 and posted 43 kills in the three sets. Jennifer Shults added eight kills on 12 swings and chipped in four blocks, while Caroline Holte was in on seven of the team's 12 blocks. The setting tandem of Beth Kinsella and Hannah Schmidt combined for 37 assists. Rachel D'Epagnier notched eight kills and three aces for the BIg Red, while Natasha Rowland served up four aces and added six digs. Setter Kelly Reinke had a match-high 32 assists and Brittany Kalepa posted a team-best nine digs.

THE SERIES VS. DARTMOUTH: Cornell's series with Dartmouth began in 1981 and the Big Red has dominated from the beginning, winning the first 13 meetings before falling to the Big Green for the first time on Oct. 12, 1996. Cornell owns a 38-12 record in the all-time series, winning 21 of the last 27 outings, including a series sweep last season.

LAST TIME VS. THE BIG GREEN: Cornell rallied in all three sets to complete its first Ivy League sweep since 2009 when it topped Dartmouth 3-0 on Nov. 2, 2012 at Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H. Rachel D'Epagnier was a dominant force at the net, collecting 14 kills while hitting .560 and adding seven digs and eight blocks as part of a defensive effort that limited the Big Green to .048 hitting. As a team, the big Red posted 11 blocks in the win. Kelly Marble added 10 kills and nine digs, while Natasha Rowland had a team-high 13 digs. Sierra Young was credited with five service aces and nine digs to go along with three blocks. Kelly Reinke ran the offense and finished with 26 assists and eight digs while chipping in three block assists. Dartmouth was led by Lucia Pohlman's six kills and six digs, while Vivian Snider (15) and Paige Caridi (13) combined for 28 digs. Dartmouth led throughout the third set, but couldn't put Cornell away as the Big Red rallied to close out the win. The set featured 12 ties and four lead changes.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose is in her second season at Cornell (14-23, .378) ... Batie-Smoose became the 10th coach in Cornell volleyball history in April 2012 ... She has a 101-85 (.543) record as a head coach, including a mark of 81-43 (.653) at Savannah College of Art & Design.

FAST START: The Big Red's 2-1 start to the Ivy League season is its best since the 2008 team opened the year 3-0 before falling to Princeton.

DIG IT: Junior libero Natasha Rowland entered the weekend first in the Ivy League and ranked 26th in the nation in digs per set (5.06) … She posted a career-high 36 digs vs. Columbia on Sept. 28, a mark that is seventh best all-time in Cornell history for digs in a match. Altogether, Rowland has posted four of the top 20 performances in Cornell history, ranking 14th with her 34 digs vs. Rutgers, 16th with her 33 digs vs. LIU Brooklyn and 18th with her 32 digs against Princeton (Oct. 22).

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

YOU'VE BEEN SERVED: Senior Sierra Young entered the week ranked 78th in the nation in service aces per set (0.37).

ON THE BLOCK: Senior Rachel D'Epagnier is steadily moving up the Cornell all-time list for career blocks. She currently ranks seventh overall in block assists (226) and needs just 14 more to pass Elizabeth Bishop (sixth – 239). She is eighth overall in total blocks (269), needing 29 more to pass Joanne Weiss (seventh – 297) and is 14th in block solos (43), needing just four more to surpass Traci Mizoguchi (13th – 46).

IN THE RANKINGS: Several Cornell players are raked in the top 10 of various Ivy League statistical categories, including:
*Macey Wilson – 10th in hitting percentage (.282)
*Breanna Wong – fifth in kills per set (3.08)
*Alyssa Phelps – first in assists per set (8.84)
*Sierra Young – sixth in service aces per set (0.37)
*Natasha Rowland - first in digs per set (5.06)
*Breanna Wong - sixth in points per set (3.23)

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 has been named the Ivy League Player of the Week. 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 lead 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.
*Brenna 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.

UP NEXT: Cornell will play its final non-conference game of the season when it travels south to take on instate rival Binghamton on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.