MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #7: Cornell vs. Pittsburgh
MATCH TIME: Friday, Sept. 20, 2013; 10:00 a.m.
MATCH SITE: Fitzgerald Field House (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
SERIES RECORD: First Meeting
LAST MEETING: First Meeting
2013 RECORDS: Cornell (2-4); Pittsburgh (7-3)*
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO 

MATCH #8: Cornell vs. Morehead State
MATCH TIME: Friday, Sept. 20, 2013; 4:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Fitzgerald Field House (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
SERIES RECORD: Morehead State leads, 3-0
LAST MEETING: Morehead State, 3-0; Sept. 4, 2009
2013 RECORDS: Cornell (2-4); Morehead State (6-4)*
LIVE STATS

MATCH #9: Cornell vs. Rutgers
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013; 10:00 a.m.
MATCH SITE: Fitzgerald Field House (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
SERIES RECORD: Series tied, 2-2
LAST MEETING: Rutgers, 3-0; Oct. 25, 1997
2013 RECORDS: Cornell (2-4); Colgate (3-8)*
LIVE STATS

* Records prior to Sept. 20

THE PITT PANTHER INVITATIONAL: The Big Red volleyball team travels to the Keystone State this weekend for its final tournament of the season, taking on the host Panthers, Morehead State, and Rutgers at the Pitt Panther Invitational. Cornell faces the host team on Friday, Sept. 20 at 10:00 a.m. and takes on Morehead State later that afternoon at 4:00 p.m. The team will wrap up the weekend the next morning at 10:00 a.m. when they play Rutgers. The series with both Morehead State and Rutgers are short ones, with the Eagles holding a 3-0 record all-time against the Big Red, while Cornell and Rutgers are tied 2-2 in the all-time series. Cornell and Pittsburgh have never faced off in women's volleyball.

THE SERIES VS. PITTSBURGH: This will be the first meeting between the Big Red and the Panthers in volleyball.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS: Pittsburgh comes into the contest having posted a 7-3 record in its first 10 games, with four of the wins coming in straight sets. The Panthers are 5-1 in their last six matches with the only loss coming to No. 22 Purdue in a five-set contest. The Pitt attack has been effective, with over 100 more kills than their opponents. Jessica Wynn and Kate Yeazel lead the attack, averaging 3.24 and 3.13 kills per set, respectively. Linsday Zitzke, the leader of the team's two setters, averages 5.61 assists per set. Delaney Clesen leads the team's defensive effort with 159 digs on the season, averaging an impressive 4.18 per set. The Panthers also benefit from an effective serving game, ranking 29th in the country with 1.8 aces per set.

VS. THE ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE: Cornell is 20-42 (.323) against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The only teams the Big Red hold a winning record against is Boston College (7-0) and Wake Forest (1-0). Cornell has a .500 winning percentage against Duke, Notre Dame, and Virginia and is 0-1 all-time against Georgia Tech, Miami, and Virginia Tech. A majority of the losses for Cornell have come at the hands of Syracuse, who is 33-9 against the Big Red. Cornell is also 0-2 against Maryland and has never played Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, or Pittsburgh. Coach Batie-Smoose has yet to face an ACC team.

THE SERIES VS. MOREHEAD STATE: Cornell has faced the Eagles just three times in volleyball, losing each of the three contests. The series dates back to 1994 when the Big Red lost in four sets at the American University Tournament, as they did when the two teams played again in 1998 at the Cornell Invitational. The most recent competition occurred in 2009 when Morehead State swept Cornell in straight sets.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES: The Morehead State Eagles come into the Pittsburgh Panther Invitational with a 6-4 record. They have lost both of their neutral site contests against Tennessee and Butler. The Eagles have however, won four of their last five matches with the only loss coming in a four-set contest with West Virginia. The squad has a solid setter in Colby Cameron, who averages 9.88 per set. The hitting attack is lead by Courtney Smith (2.94 kills/set) and Aryn Bohannon (2.90 kills/set). The duo helps the squad on defense too where they combine for nearly 6.0 digs per set. Leslie Schellhaas leads the team on this end, however, averaging 5.27 digs per set, good for 17th in the nation.

VS. THE OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE: The Big Red has a 1-3 record against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The only team other than Morehead State (0-3) that Cornell has faced is Belmont, who the Big Red beat 3-1 during the 2005 season. Coach Batie-Smoose has yet to face an OVC team.

THE SERIES VS. RUTGERS: Cornell has played the Scarlet Knights four times in program history, and each meeting has been a 3-0 sweep, with each side having two victories apiece. Cornell won the first two contests in 1985 and 1991, but Rutgers has achieved revenge in the last two contests with Scarlett Knight victories in 1996 and 1997. Both victories for Cornell in the series have come in neutral locations.

SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS: The Rutgers Scarlet Knights comes into the weekend with a 3-8 record. The team has lost its last four contests, with the most recent three occurring in the Delaware Volleyball Invitational to Furman and Sacred Heart, in four and five sets, respectively. Seven of the games have come at a neutral location in which the team has a 3-4 record. The Scarlet Knights are nearly even with the competition in just about all statistical categories. Alex Lassa leads the team with 3.67 kills per set. Her teammate Nicole Bayer has 243 assists in their 11 games, a 5.17 average per set. Ali Schroeter is the team's leading defensive presence with 4.62 dig per set.

VS. THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE: The Big Red is 10-9 against the current members of the newly formed American Athletic Conference, thanks mostly to a 5-2 record against Connecticut. The Big Red has a .500 record against both Rutgers (2-2), Temple (2-2) and Southern Methodist (1-1). Cornell is 0-1 against both Louisville and Memphis, and has never played Central Florida, Cincinnati, Houston, or South Florida. Coach Batie-Smoose is 0-1 against AAC teams, as the Big Red fell to Temple last year.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose is in her second season at Cornell (11-20, .355) ... Batie-Smoose became the 10th coach in Cornell volleyball history in April 2012 ... She has a 98-82 (.544) record as a head coach, including a mark of 81-43 (.653) at Savannah College of Art & Design.

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 on the weekend. She was particularly impressive in Cornell's victory over the Stags, 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.

ON THE BLOCK: Senior Rachel D'Epagnier is steadily moving up the Cornell all-time list for career blocks. She currently ranks 10th overall in block assists (199), is tied for 11th overall in total blocks (234) and is tied for 15th in block solos (35).

UP NEXT: Cornell opens up Ivy League play against Columbia at Newman Arena on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 2:00 p.m.