MATCH INFO
MATCH #18: Cornell at Columbia
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015; 2:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Levien Gymnasium (New York, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 49-12
LAST MEETING: Columbia won, 3-1, on Sept. 26, 2015
2015 RECORDS: Cornell (4-13, 0-7 Ivy); Columbia (5-11, 3-4 Ivy)
LIVE STATS 
LIVE VIDEO 
 
THE MATCHUP: The Big Red volleyball team will open up the second half of Ivy League play when it travels to New York City to take on Columbia at Levien Gymnasium on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m.  Cornell (4-13, 0-7 Ivy) is looking to snap a nine-match skid, while the Lions have split each of the last two weekends to improve to 5-11 overall and 3-4 in the Ivy League.
 
THE SERIES VS. COLUMBIA: The Big Red and the Lions have played 61 times dating back to 1977, with Cornell holding a dominating 49-12 record in the all-time series. The Big Red halted a four-match losing streak against the Lions during the 2013 season with a series sweep. The team's split the series a year ago and Columbia one the first meeting earlier this year.
 
LAST TIME VS. THE LIONS: The Big Red looked impressive in its first Ivy League set, downing Columbia, 25-21, but let an 11-3 lead in the second set slip away as the Lions came back to escape Ithaca with a 3-1 victory on Sept. 26 in Newman Arena.  Columbia won the final three sets, 26-24, 25-20, 25-23. Cornell had a balanced attack with four hitters in double figures, as Alex Basler, Emily Wemhoff, Macey Wilson and Carla Sganderlla had 10 kills each, while Alyssa Phelps finished with nine. Basler was especially impressive, hitting a match-high .455 percent with 10 kills and no errors on 22 attempts to go along with five block assists and three service aces. Wilson was also a formidable presence at the net with seven block assists and one solo block. Along with her nine kills, Phelps added 27 assists, seven digs, and three block assists, while freshman setter Lauren Donnelly chipped in 15 assists and 12 digs. Sophomore libero Chelsea Sincox had a team-high 23 digs, while freshman defensive specialist Shae Bauchens finished with 17. Columbia was led by Zoe Jacobs 19 kills, while Luciana Del Valle (13) and Katarina Jovicic (10) reached double figures as well. Del Valle also had a match-high 26 digs. Setter Jennifer Petrovich handed out 49 assists and posted 13 digs, while libero Cassie Wes finished with 22 digs.
 
SCOUTING COLUMBIA: The Lions have split each of their last two Ivy League weekends to improve to 5-11 overall and 3-4 in the conference, moving into a tie for fourth place in the league standings. The team is led by Katarina Jovicic, who ranks first in the Ivy League in hitting percentage (.355) and second overall in blocks per set (1.16), while Zoe Jacobs ranks eighth in the Ivy League with 3.0 kills per set. Columbia's setters, Jennifer Petrovich (9.31) and Alex Reale (7.45), also rank first and fifth, respectively, in assists per set, while libero Cassie Wes ranks first in the conference in digs per set (4.84).
 
THE HEAD COACH: Trudy Vande Berg is in her first season as The Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach Of Volleyball at Cornell (4-13, .235) ... Vande Berg became the 11th head coach in Cornell volleyball history in March 2015 after spending three seasons as the Big Red's top assistant coach ... Prior to her time at Cornell, Vande Berg spent time as an assistant coach at North Florida, Duke, and Iowa State and as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin. She also served as head coach of the Team Iowa Ice professional club in the Premier Volleyball League, where she guided the team to the championship in her second year at the helm. Ice is the only team to have medaled in each of the three years of the league's existence.
 
NCAA RANKINGS: Entering the week, Natalie Danenhauer ranks 12th in the nation in aces per game (0.49). As a team, Cornell's 1.50 aces per set ranks 58th in the nation and second in the Ivy League.
 
IN THE RANKINGS: Several Cornell players are raked in the top 10 of various Ivy League statistical categories, including:
* Macey Wilson – ninth in hitting percentage (.288)
* Alyssa Phelps – seventh in assists per set (6.77)
* Natalie Danenhauer – first in service aces per set (0.49)
* Alex Basler – sixth in service aces per set (0.31)
* Chelsea Sincox – sixth in digs per set (3.75)
   
DID YOU KNOW:
* Brittany Kalepa was a member of the Kamehameha Schools Children's Chorus, which sang in the movie Lilo and Stitch.
* This past summer, Houston native Chelsea Sincox served as a tour guide at Space Center Houston, gateway to NASA Johnson Space Center and Houston's only Smithsonian Affiliate museum. 
* Kiley McPeek has 10 relatives that are Cornell alumni. Her father, Jeff '82, played sprint football for the Big Red, while her great uncle Richard Boerner was a member of the Cornell heavyweight varsity eight that won the IRA national championship in 1958.
* Kit McCarty is one of eight children – she has four brothers and three sisters.
* Zoe Lequeux is a French citizen.
* Carla Sganderlla can speak Portuguese.
* Kara Rogers lived in Germany for a year.
 
CLOSE CALLS:  Of the 21 sets the Big Red has lost this season, more than one-third (eight) have been by just two points.
 
SETTING UP: Junior Alyssa Phelps currently sits in seventh place in Cornell history for career assists (2,140), needing 20 more to move past Adrienne Greve (1992-95) into sixth place, and 29 to move past Rachel Rice (2000-03) in fifth place.
 
BIG BLOCKER: Junior Macey Wilson ranks 16th in Cornell history for career solo blocks (36), needing just three more to move past Heather Young in 15th place. She is also 10th in block assists (203), and 13th in total blocks (234), needing two and five, respectively, to move up a notch.
 
BOOMING BASLER: Since the start of Ivy League play, freshman Alex Basler recorded just seven hitting errors, going a collective 45-7-120 for an impressive .317 hitting percentage – the highest on the team during that stretch.
 
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Big Red freshmen class of Alex Basler, Shae Bauchens,Natalie Danenhauer, Lauren Donnelly, Gabby Goodall, Zoe Lequeux, Kara Rogers, and Carla Sganderlla was ranked among the top 90 in the nation, earning a high honorable mention distinction from PrepVolleyball.com.
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:  Junior Macey Wilson was named to the Jack Kaiser Volleyball Classic All-Tournament team, while junior Alyssa Phelps and freshman Carla Sganderlla were both named to the Black Knights Invitational All-Tournament Team. Phelps was also named to the Cornell Invitational All-Tournament team.
 
 SEASON OPENERS: With its win over William & Mary on Sept. 5, Cornell improved to 28-14-1 all-time in season openers. Since 1995, the Big Red is an impressive 15-5 in the first match of the season.
 
OPENING UP 2-0: Cornell picked up wins over William & Mary and Iona on its first day of the season to get off to a 2-0 start for the first time since defeating Niagara and Bucknell in the opening round of the 2007 Cornell Invitational.
 
UP NEXT: The Big Red returns home to take on Yale and Brown on Friday, Oct. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 31, respectively. The Game with the Bulldogs will begin at 7 p.m., while the game with the Bears is slated to begin at 5 p.m.