MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #11: Cornell at Columbia
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014; 2:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Levien Gymnasium (New York, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 48-10
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 3-2; Oct. 26, 2013
2014 RECORDS: Cornell (3-7, 0-0 Ivy); Columbia (4-5, 0-0 Ivy)
LIVE STATS: www.GoColumbiaLions.com
LIVE VIDEO: www.GoColumbiaLions.com

THE IVY LEAGUE OPENER: The Big Red volleyball team will travel to Columbia for both teams' first Ivy League competition of the season on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 2:00 p.m. Both squads come into the game with under .500 records, with Cornell sitting a 3-7, while the Lions are 4-5.

THE SERIES VS. COLUMBIA: The Big Red and the Lions have played 58 times dating back to 1977, with Cornell holding a dominating 48-10 record in the all-time series. The Big Red halted a four-match losing streak against the Lions last season with a series sweep, defeating Columbia in a pair of 3-2 decisions. Cornell and Columbia have played each other in the Ivy League opener each year since 2000, with the Big Red holding the 19-7 record during that span.
 
LAST TIME VS. THE LIONS: For the first time since the 2008 season the Big Red earned a season sweep over Columbia when it defeated the Lions, 3-2, on Oct. 26, 2013 at Levien Gym in New York City. The match was a thrilling one, closely contested throughout with Cornell taking the five-set victory, 26-28, 25-23, 25-22, 20-25, 15-9. The Big Red had five players register double-digit kills, with middle blockers Rachel D'Epagnier (12) and Macey Wilson (10) combining for 22 kills and just six errors on 46 attempts. D'Epagnier registered a blistering .417 hitting percentage (12-2-24) as four Big Red players hit above .300 and the team hit .269 for the match. Setter Alyssa Phelps tallied a career-high 65 assists and registered 11 digs. The 65 assists were the most for a Cornell player since Whitney Fair registered 64 assists against Princeton on Nov. 6, 2004 and Phelps' performance ranked 11th overall in Big Red history for assists in a single match. The Cornell defense was outstanding with 93 digs behind six total team blocks. Leading the way was Natasha Rowland with 34 digs. Her 34 digs were just two off her career-high, set against Columbia in the first meeting of the season, and ranked 14th overall in Cornell history for digs in a single match. It also moved Rowland into ninth place in Big Red history for digs in a single season (397). Sierra Young also finished with 10 digs. Columbia was led by Bailey Springer with 17 kills while Katarina Jovicic and Zoe Jacobs registered 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Springer had a double-double with 14 digs. Jennifer Petrovich handed out 36 assists and Molly Winger had a team-high 19 digs.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose is in her third season at Cornell (20-39, .339) ... Batie-Smoose became the 10th coach in Cornell volleyball history in April 2012 ... She has a 107-101 (.514) 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 was good for eighth in the nation, while Emily Wemhoff's 11.27 attacks per set ranked 30th overall. As a team, Cornell's 15.61 digs per set was 76th in the nation, while the Big Red's 37.12 attacks per set was good for 23rd overall.
 
IN THE RANKINGS: Several Cornell players are raked in the top 10 of various Ivy League statistical categories, including:
* Emily Wemhoff – fourth in kills per set (3.08)
* Maddy Sroufe –  fifth in kills per set (3.03)
* Alyssa Phelps – fourth in assists per set (8.94)
* Maddy Sroufe – third in service aces per set (0.39)
* Macey Wilson – first in blocks per set (1.03)
*Natasha Rowland – first in digs per set (5.44)
 
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 33 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 106 more to move past Ann Korioth (1988-90) and into 10th place.
 
ON THE BLOCK: 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: The first full Ivy weekend is next on tap with the Big Red traveling to Princeton (Oct. 3) and Penn (Oct. 4). The Tigers have a commanding 47-18 record all-time against Cornell but teams split a pair of matches as season ago. The Quakers dominated the series with Cornell throughout the 1970s and '80s, accounting for its 40-24 all-time lead, but since 2000 the series has been much more competitive with Penn owning the slim 13-10 advantage after sweeping Cornell in 2013.