MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #14: Cornell vs. Harvard
MATCH TIME: Friday, Oct. 10, 2014; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 36-22
LAST MEETING: Harvard won, 3-0; Nov. 16, 2013
2014 RECORDS: Cornell (3-10, 0-3 Ivy); Harvard (8-4, 1-2 Ivy)
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball/
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com/cornell

MATCH #15: Cornell vs. Dartmouth
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014; 5:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 39-13
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 3-1; Nov. 15, 2013
2014 RECORDS: Cornell (3-10, 0-3 Ivy)*; Dartmouth (11-3, 2-1 Ivy)*
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball/
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com/cornell
    * Prior to games on Friday, Oct. 10

THE MATCHUP: The Big Red volleyball team will look to snap a five-match skid and earn its first conference wins of the season when it welcomes Harvard (8-4, 1-2 Ivy) and Dartmouth (11-3, 2-1 Ivy) to Newman Arena on Friday, Oct. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 11, respectively. The games will each feature a special promotion with the team holding a Middle School & High School Night vs. the Crimson and a Youth Clinic Night vs. the Big Green. Team members will meet fans and sign posters on Middle School & High School Night following their game with Harvard at 7 p.m. The next day, the Big Red will host a Youth Clinic Night, giving children, ages 5-12, an opportunity to work with the Cornell players and coaching staff following the game with Dartmouth at 5 p.m. Admission is free to both events. Out of town fans can watch live on 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 has gotten its revenge by winning the last four outings.
 
LAST TIME VS. THE CRIMSON: Harvard came into Newman Arena and spoiled Senior Day for the Big Red, sweeping Cornell, 25-22, 27-25, 25-15 on Nov. 16, 2013. While the team's four seniors were honored before the match, it was a group of underclassmen that led the Big Red during the match. Junior libero Natasha Rowland had a match-high 17 digs and finished the season with 506, good for third in Cornell history for digs in a single season.  Senior Rachel D'Epagnier posted six blocks, including two solo, to finish her career ranked fourth overall in block assists (266), sixth overall in total blocks (331) and 10th in block solos (64). Harvard was led by Caroline Holte, who registered 10 kills and hit a blistering .529 (10-1-17), while Caroline Walters and Connie Bain finished with eight kills apiece. Bain also tallied 22 assists and nine digs, splitting setting duties with Hannah Schmidt, who finished with 13 assists. Libero Kristen Casey matched Rowland for a match-high with 17 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 39-13 record in the all-time series, winning 22 of the last 98 outings, including a win in the series finale a season ago.

LAST TIME VS. THE BIG GREEN: The Big Red snapped a four-match losing streak with at 3-1 decision over Dartmouth on Nov. 15, 2013 in Newman Arena. After a slim two-point loss in the first set, the Big Red stormed back to win the final three sets, 27-25, 25-18, 25-19. Cornell had three players register double-digit kills, led by Rachel D'Epagnier's 15. D'Epagnier hit .367 (15-4-30) on the evening and posted eight total blocks (two solo). For the game, the Big Red hit .244 (63-22-168) on the evening, thanks in large part to Macey Wilson, who connected at a .615 clip with eight kills and no errors on 13 attempts. Wilson also added five total blocks, including three solo efforts. Behind Cornell's 13.0 total team blocks, libero Natasha Rowland tallied a match-high 25 digs, while Sierra Yong finished with 12. Setter Alyssa Phelps finished with an impressive 51 assists. Dartmouth was led by Paige Caridi, who posted a 17-kill, 19-dig double-double. In all, four Big Green players finished with at least 10 digs, including libero Julia Lau (14), Molly Kornfeind (13) and Stacey Benton (10). Benton also registered 41 assists. The Big Green hit just .145 for the match (51-26-172) and registered just 9.0 total team blocks, with Elisa Scudder and Kaira Lujan finishing with three block assists and one block solo apiece.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose is in her third season at Cornell (20-42, .323) ... Batie-Smoose became the 10th coach in Cornell volleyball history in April 2012 ... She has a 107-104 (.507) record as a head coach, including a mark of 81-43 (.653) at Savannah College of Art & Design.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DIG STREAK: Natasha Rowland has posted double-digit digs in 17 consecutive games, the second longest streak of her career (18; Sept. 7, 2013 to Nov. 1, 2013)

NCAA RANKINGS: Entering the week, Natasha Rowland's 5.38 digs per set was good for 11th in the nation, while the Big Red's 15.77 digs per set was good for 74th overall.
 
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 (.277)
* Maddy Sroufe – seventh in kills per set (2.96)
* Emily Wemhoff – ninth in kills per set (2.94)
* Alyssa Phelps – fourth in assists per set (8.89)
* Maddy Sroufe – eighth in service aces per set (0.30)
* Natasha Rowland – first in digs per set (5.38)
 
MOVING ON UP: Senior libero Natasha Rowland sits in sixth place in Cornell history for career digs with 1,102. She enters the week needing just 17 digs to surpass Debby Quibell (2000-03) and move into fifth place.

SETTING UP: Sophomore Alyssa Phelps currently sits in 11th place in Cornell history for career assists (1,341), needing just nine more to move past Ann Korioth (1988-90) and into 10th place.
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Senior libero Natasha Rowland was named to both the Seton Hall All-Tournament Team and the Otto Invitational All-Tournament Team.
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Maddy Sroufe was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Sept. 9, following an outstanding performance at the Seton Hall Tournament, where Sroufe led Cornell in both kills per set (3.13) and hitting percentage (.159). She also added 27 digs (1.8 per set) and 10 service aces. Sroufe improved as the weekend went on, registering seven kills vs. Seton Hall, 11 vs. UNLV, 14 in a win over Siena, and 15 vs. Rutgers. She also tallied 17 digs against the Scarlet Knights for her first career double-double.  

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Big Red added seven new members to the 2014 roster – Amelia Brackett, Gabrielle Ennis, Kit McCarty, Kiley McPeek, Chelsea Sincox, Maddy Sroufe, and Emily Wemhoff. The group of seven hails from six states and consists of three outside hitters, two right-side hitters, one middle hitter and one defensive specialist.
 
HALL OF FAME: Debbie Quibell '04 was named one of 11 new member selected for induction into the Cornell University Athletic Hall of Fame at the 37th annual ceremonies to be held Friday, Nov. 7 on the Cornell campus. Quibell was a three-time All-Ivy League selection and two-time first-team honoree who graduated as the school's all-time leader in kills (1,212). She also was first in kills per set (3.52) and digs per set (3.25), second in digs (1,118) and points per set (4.12) and third in aces (127) and total points (1418.5). She was a first-team All-Ivy League pick as a sophomore and junior after capturing second-team All-Ivy accolades as a freshman. Quibell was a two-time Academic All-Ivy League selection and was a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-District pick as a senior. The four-year starter helped guide the team to a 72-34 record, including a 21-4 mark her senior year. During her junior year, the team finished as runner-up at the Ivy League Tournament and placed tied for second in the regular season in her final season in 2003 with an 11-3 record.

UP NEXT: The Big Red hits the road again next weekend when it travels to Yale on Friday, Oct. 17 and Brown on Saturday, Oct. 18.