MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #1: Cornell at Seton Hall
MATCH TIME: Friday, Sept. 5, 2014; Noon
MATCH SITE: Walsh Gym (Orange, N.J.)
SERIES RECORD: Series tied, 2-2
LAST MEETING: Seton Hall won, 3-2; Sept. 13, 2003
2014 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0); Seton Hall (2-1)
LIVE STATS: www.shupirates.com 
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.shupirates.com/collegesportslive/ 

MATCH #2: Cornell vs. UNLV
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 5, 2014; 4:30 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Walsh Gym (Orange, N.J.)
SERIES RECORD: UNLV leads, 1-0
LAST MEETING: UNLV won, 3-0; Sept. 19, 1997
2014 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0)*; UNLV (3-2)
LIVE STATS: www.shupirates.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

MATCH #3: Cornell vs. Siena
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014; 10:00 a.m.
MATCH SITE: Walsh Gym (Orange, N.J.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 5-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 3-1; Sept. 3, 2010
2014 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0)*; Siena (1-2)*
LIVE STATS: www.shupirates.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

MATCH #4: Cornell vs. Rutgers
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014; 4:30 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Walsh Gym (Orange, N.J.)
SERIES RECORD: Rutgers leads, 3-2
LAST MEETING: Rutgers won, 3-2; Sept. 21, 2013
2014 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0)*; Rutgers (2-1)*
LIVE STATS: www.shupirates.com
LIVE VIDEO: None

* Records prior to Sept. 5

THE SETON HALL INVITATIONAL: The Big Red volleyball team opens its 43rd season this weekend as travels to the Seton Hall Tournament at Walsh Gymnasium in Orange, N.Y. Cornell will face the host Pirates on Friday, Sept. 5 at noon, before taking on UNLV in the afternoon game at 4:30 p.m. The following day, Cornell will take on Siena (10 a.m.) and Rutgers (4:30 p.m.). Of the four teams, the Big Red has a winning record against only Siena (5-1), which is also the team it has faced the most. Cornell is 2-2 vs. Seton Hall, but hasn't faced the Pirates since the 2003 season, and holds a losing record vs. Rutgers (2-3) and UNLV (0-1).

THE SERIES VS. SETON HALL: Cornell's series with Seton Hall is tied at 2-2. The two teams first met at the 1983 Syracuse Invitational, a 3-0 victory for the Big Red. The Pirates won the next meeting, 3-2, during the 1990 season, but Cornell swept SHU once again (3-0) in 2002. The following season, the Pirates tied the series with another slim 3-2 victory.

VS. THE BIG EAST CONFERENCE: Cornell is 7-9 all-time vs. the current members of the Big East. The Big Red holds a winning record against just Butler (1-0), while the series with Providence (1-1), Seton Hall (2-2) and Villanova (2-2) are all tied. Cornell has a losing record against Georgetown (1-2), and St. John's (0-2) but has never faced Creighton, DePaul or Xavier.
 
THE SERIES VS. UNLV: The Rebels defeated Cornell in the only meeting between the two teams, earning the 3-0 victory in the 2004 season.  

VS. THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE: Cornell is winless vs. the current members of the Mountain West. The Big Red is 0-2 against both Fresno State and San Diego State and is 0-1 vs. Nevada, UNLV, and Wyoming. Cornell has never faced Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Jose State, Utah State
 
THE SERIES VS. SIENA: Cornell holds a 5-1 advantage all-time against the Saints in a series that began in 1995. Big Red won the first four meetings before dropping a 3-1 decision to Siena during the 2006 season. Cornell returned to its winning ways in 2010 with a 3-1 victory in Newman Arena.

VS. THE METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC CONFERENCE: Cornell has had a great deal of success vs. the current members of the MAAC, going a combined 35-9 against the 10-team conference. The Big Red has a winning record against Canisius (7-1), Fairfield (3-1), Iona (2-1), Marist (1-0), Niagara (11-1), Rider (4-1) and Siena (5-1). Cornell's series with Saint Peter's is tied at 2-2 and the Big Red lost its only meeting with Manhattan. Cornell has never faced Quinnipiac.

THE SERIES VS. RUTGERS: Cornell won its first two meetings with the Scarlet Knights, earning back-to-back sweeps in 1985 and 1991. Since then, Rutgers has won three consecutive meetings, including last season's 3-2 triumph, to take the 3-2 lead in the series.

VS. THE BIG 10: The Big Red is 3-7 all-time vs. the current members of the Big 10, with a winning record against Northwestern (1-0). Cornell has a losing record against Rutgers (2-3), Maryland (0-2), Nebraska (0-1) and Purdue (0-1), but has never faced Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State Penn State or Wisconsin.

THE HEAD COACH: Cornell head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose is in her third season at Cornell (17-32, .347) ... Batie-Smoose became the 10th coach in Cornell volleyball history in April 2012 ... She has a 104-94 (.525) record as a head coach, including a mark of 81-43 (.653) at Savannah College of Art & Design.

SEASON OPENERS: Cornell is 27-13-1 all-time in season openers. Since 1995, the Big Red is an impressive 14-4 in the first match of the season.


MOVING ON UP: Senior libero Natasha Rowland enters her senior season ranked 15th in Cornell history with 849 career digs and needs just 71 more to move into the top 10. She finished the 2013 season with the third most digs in Cornell history for a single season with 506.


DIG IT: Senior libero Natasha Rowland finished last season ranked second in the Ivy League and ranked 33rd 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 posted five of the top 20 performances in Cornell history.

ON THE BLOCK: Sophomore Macey Wilson finished the 2013 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.
 
SETTING UP: After an outstanding rookie season, sophomore Alyssa Phelps enters her sophomore season ranked 15th in Cornell history for career assists (923). She needs just 62 more assists to move into 14th place.
 
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: Cornell is back in action next weekend when it travels to the Bucknell Tournament.