MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #10: Cornell vs. Binghamton
MATCH TIME: Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 28-8-2
LAST MEETING: Colgate won, 3-2; Oct. 15, 2013
2014 RECORDS: Cornell (3-6); Binghamton (1-14)
LIVE STATS:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball/
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com/cornell/schedule

THE MATCHUP: The Big Red volleyball team will play its home-opener and its final non-conference game of the season when it welcomes Binghamton to Newman Arena on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. Cornell has won its last two meetings with the Bearcats. 

THE SERIES VS. BINGHAMTON: Cornell has faced Binghamton 31 times, dominating the series at 21-8-2. However, Binghamton has won four of the last six meetings, with the Big Red earning back-to-back 3-2 victories in each of the last two seasons. 
 
LAST TIME VS. THE BEARCATS: After losing consecutive sets to open the match at Binghamton, the Big Red stormed back to win the final three sets and defeat the Bearcats (21-25, 19-25, 25-13, 25-19, 15-9) on Oct. 15, 2013 in West Gymnasium on the Binghamton campus. Cornell got big contributions from everyone who played, with four players reaching double-digit kills. The quartet was also remarkably consistent, as all four hit above .300 on the evening. Macey Wilson led the way with a .421 hitting percentage (11-3-19) to go along with six block assists and three service aces. Setter Alyssa Phelps handed out 39 assists, tallied six kills, had seven digs and posted three blocks (one solo), while libero Natasha Rowland was outstanding with a match-high 29 digs. Binghamton was led by Grace Vickers' 18 kills and .389 hitting percentage, but she was the only Bearcat to hit above .116 for the contest, as the team finished at .115 for the evening. Setter Amanda Dettman finished with 36 assists and both she and Xiomara Ortiz led the Bearcats with 19 digs.

VS. THE AMERICA EAST:  Cornell is 40-10-2 all-time vs. the current members of the America East, thanks mostly to a 21-8-2 record vs. in-state rival Binghamton. The Big Red also has a winning record vs. Albany (8-0), Hartford (6-1), New Hampshire (2-0) and Stony Brook (3-1), but has never faced UMBC or UMass-Lowell.
 
THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose is in her third season at Cornell (20-38, .345) ... Batie-Smoose became the 10th coach in Cornell volleyball history in April 2012 ... She has a 107-100 (.517) record as a head coach, including a mark of 81-43 (.653) at Savannah College of Art & Design.
 
NCAA RANKINGS: Entering the week, Natasha Rowland's 5.48 digs per set is good for eighth in the nation, while Emily Wemhoff's 11.27 attacks per set ranks 30th overall. As a team, Cornell's 15.61 digs per set is 76th in the nation, while the Big Red's 37.12 attacks per set is good for 23rd overall.
 
MOVING ON UP: With her 58-dig performance at the Otto Invitational, senior libero Natasha Rowland moved into eighth place in Cornell history for career digs with 1,030. She enters the week needing just 48 digs to surpass Jenn Drais (1990-93) and move into seventh place.

SETTING UP: Sophomore Alyssa Phelps currently sits in 11th place in Cornell history for career assists (1,223), needing just 128 more to move past Ann Korioth (1988-90) and into 10th place.
 
ON THE BLOCK: Entering the week, sophomore Macey Wilson ranks first in the conference in blocks per set (1.03). A year ago, Wilson finished her rookie season ranked second on the team and second in the Ivy League with 1.05 blocks per set and her 82 block assists ranked 16th overall in Big Red history for a single-season.

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: Ivy League play begins on Saturday, Sept. 27 when the Big Red travels to Columbia for a contest at 2 p.m. Cornell won both matches against the Lions last season to improve its commanding lead in the all-time series to 48-10.