MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #22: Cornell vs. Yale
MATCH TIME: Friday, Nov. 10, 2017; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Yale leads, 43-25
LAST MEETING: Yale won, 3-1; Oct. 7, 2017 (New Haven, Conn.)
2017 RECORDS: Cornell (10-11, 6-6 Ivy); Yale (15-6, 9-3 Ivy)
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball
LIVE VIDEO: www.IvyLeague.TV     
 
MATCH #23: Cornell vs. Brown
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017; 5:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 41-26
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 3-1; Oct. 6, 2017 (Providence, R.I.)
* 2017 RECORDS: Cornell (10-11, 6-6 Ivy); Brown (7-16, 2-10 Ivy)
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball
LIVE VIDEO: www.IvyLeague.TV     
 
* records prior to Friday evenings contests.   
 
THE MATCHUP: The Big Red volleyball team will close the 2017 campaign this weekend with the opportunity to post its first winning Ivy League record since the 2008 squad went 9-5 in conference play. Standing in the team's way will be league-leading Yale (15-6, 9-3 Ivy) and a tough Brown (7-16, 2-10 Ivy) squad coming off an upset victory over Harvard last weekend. Cornell (10-11, 6-6 Ivy) will welcome the Bulldogs to Newman Arena on Friday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m., before hosting the Bears on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 5 p.m. The Big Red will honor the program's five seniors – Kit McCarty, Kiley McPeek, Chelsea Sincox, Maddy Sroufe and Emily Wemhoff – during its Senior Night ceremony prior to the contest with Brown.
 
SENIOR DAY SALUTE: Saturday night's game will be the final collegiate contest for Cornell's seniors Kit McCarty, Kiley McPeek, Chelsea Sincox, Maddy Stroufe and Emily Wemhoff.

THE SERIES VS. YALE: Cornell and Yale first met in 1976, a 2-0 Bulldog victory. Yale went on to win the next four contests before the Big Red earned its first win in the series during the 1981 campaign. The Bulldogs have won the past 19 meetings, taking the lead in the all-time series, 43-25.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: After going 8-1 to open Ivy League play, Yale has split the last two weekends with losses to Penn and Harvard to slip into a first place tie with Princeton at the top of the conference standings and enter the final weekend with a record of 15-6 overall (9-3 Ivy). The Bulldogs rank in the top half of the conference in each statistical category, ranking first in opponent hitting percentage and second overall in blocks, while sitting in third in hitting percentage,  kills, assists, digs and service aces. Yale is led by Kelly Wirth's 2.96 kills per set and Izzy Simqu's .326 hitting percentage, good for fifth and sixth, respectively, in the Ivy League. Sophomore Franny Arnautou and senior Kelsey Crawford split the setting duties with Arnautou's 6.57 assists per set good for sixth in the conference. Defensively, Simqu is a solid presence at the net, ranking fifth in the Ivy League with 1.06 blocks per set, while junior libero Kate Swanson sits just behind Cornell's Kiley McPeek with 4.47digs per set.
 
LAST TIME VS. YALE: The Big Red gave Yale all that it could handle in New Haven, but the Bulldogs rebounded from an opening set loss to earn the 3-1 victory at Lee Amphitheater on Oct. 7. Cornell won the first set, 25-20, before falling 27-29, 22-25, and 22-25. Samanta Arenas led the Big Red with a 19-kill, 16-dig double-double. She also finished with a solid .273 hitting percentage. Sophomore middle Jenna Phelps capped a solid weekend with 13 kills and just four errors on 27 attempts for a .333 hitting percentage, while her counterpart Jada Stackhouse finished with seven kills and no errors on 17 attempts for a team-high .412 hitting percentage to go along with four total blocks. Kara Rogers and Kit McCarty also finished with 10 kills apiece. As a team, the Big Red finished with its second-highest hitting percentage of the season (.243) and its most kills on the year (68). Three Big Red finished with double-digit digs – Arenas (16), Zoe Chamness (14) and Kiley McPeek (11) – as Cornell out-dug Yale, 80-73. Chamness also finished with a career-high 31 assists, while senior Chelsea Sincox handed out 20 helpers. Yale was led by Kathryn Attar and Izzy Simqu with 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Simqu hit a blistering .545 (13-1-22), while Attar finished at .371 (15-2-35). Tristin Kott also finished in double-digits (10) and hit .333 (10-2-24). As a team, the Bulldogs hit .271.
 
THE SERIES VS. BROWN: Cornell's series with Brown began in the 1976 season and the Big Red has dominated from the beginning, winning the first seven meetings before falling to the Bears for the first time in 1984. Cornell owns a 41-26 record in the all-time series, winning 21 of the last 34 meetings.

SCOUTING THE BEARS: Brown snapped a six-match losing streak with an upset victory over Harvard on its Senior Night to close out its final home weekend of the season and improve to 7-16 overall and 2-10 in the Ivy League. The Bears serve well and play tough defense, ranking first in the Ivy League in aces, third overall in blocks, and fourth in digs. Defensively, sophomore middle Jacqueline Jacobs ranks second in the Ivy League in blocks per set (1.18), while senior libero Melissa Cairo is third overall with 4.09 digs per set. Brown has a balanced attack with four players averaging more than 2.00 kills per set, led by junior outside hitter Sabrina Stillwell (2.51). Stillwell also leads the team with a .255 hitting percentage.
 
LAST TIME VS. BROWN: The Big Red overcame a loss in the first set (24-26), and late deficits in both the third and fourth sets to escape the Pizzitola Center with a 3-1 victory over Brown on Oct. 6.  Cornell took the final three sets by scores of 25-18, 25-23, and 26-24. Jenna Phelps had one of the best nights of her career, posting a team-high in kills (12), hitting percentage (.259) and service aces (7). Her seven aces were good for fourth all-time in Cornell history and were just one off of the school record, held by Ann Korioth, Jennifer Borncamp, and Liz Downs. Phelps also finished with four blocks (two solo) and a career-high nine digs. Kara Rogers also had a solid outing with 11 kills and a .219 hitting percentage (11-4-32), while Samanta Arenas and Emily Wemhoff chipped in eight kills apiece. Defensively, Jada Stackhouse finished with seven block assists in front of four Big Red with double-digit digs. Kiley McPeek led the way with 22 digs, while Arenas posted 16 and Chelsea Sincox and Zoe Chamness tallied 13 and 11, respectively. Sincox also finished the evening with 22 assists and Chamness chipped in 12. Brown was led by Makena Ehlert, Sabrina Stillwell and Shirin Tooloee with eight kills apiece, but of the three, only Ehlert hit above .200 (8-3-25). As a team, the Bears hit just .079 (43-30-164).
 
THE HEAD COACH: Trudy Vande Berg is in her third season as The Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach Of Volleyball at Cornell (28-41, .406) ... 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.
 
TOP 10 DIGS: Kiley McPeek has amasses 938 career digs, good for 11th place in Cornell history, and needs just 14 more to move into the top 10.
* For the season, McPeek enters the weekend with 392 digs and needs just 11 more to jump into the Big Red's top 10 for digs in a single season.
 
GET OUT THE BROOM: With its consecutive 3-1 wins over Princeton (Oct. 13) and Penn (Oct. 14) the Big Red completed its first Ivy League weekend sweep since 2012. 
* Cornell earned a second weekend sweep when it defeated Dartmouth (Oct. 27) and Harvard (Oct. 27), earning a pair of weekend Ivy sweeps in the same season for the first time since 2008.
 
CLOSE CALLS & FREE VOLLEYBALL: In Cornell's 12 Ivy League matches this season, the Big Red has played 47 sets, 13 of which have been decided by just two points (.276) with 10 of the 13 going to extra points. 
 
ACES: Jenna Phelps came one ace shy of breaking the school record for aces in a match (8) when she registered seven vs. Brown on Oct. 6.
* Phelps enters the week leading the Ivy League and ranking sixth in the nation with 0.51 aces per set.
 
GRINDING OUT A WIN: The Big Red is 8-6 in matches that go more than three sets. Cornell is just 2-4 in three-set matches.
 
MOVING UP: The following Big Red are moving up the Cornell career rankings …
* Emily Wemhoff – 9th in Kills (804); 13th in Points (878.0)
* Kit McCarty – 11th in Kills (760); 16th in Points (851.0); 19th in Block Assists (163)
* Kiley McPeek – 11th in Digs (938)
* Chelsea Sincox – 16th in Assists (502); 18th in Digs (765)
* Zoe Chamness – 18th in Assists (349)
* Lauren Donnelly – 19th in Assists (277)
 
SINGLE-SEASON MARKS: Here's where the 2017 Big Red sit in Cornell's single-season record book …
* Jenna Phelps – 8th in Attack Percentage (.325); 25th in blocks per set (1.07); 21st in Service Aces (36); 6th in Service Aces Per Set (0.51)
* Jada Stackhouse – 29th in Attack Percentage (.272); 30th in block assists (67)
* Kiley McPeek – 11th in Digs (392); 7th in Digs Per Set (4.90)
 
NCAA TEAM RANKINGS: As a team, Cornell entered the week ranked …
* 3rd – Attacks per Set (40.34)
* 24th – Digs per Set (17.30)
* 59th – Assists per Set (12.76)
* 65th – Kills per Set (13.61)
 
NCAA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS: Big Red players entered the week ranked …
* 6th – Aces per Set (Jenna Phelps – 0.51)
* 47th – Digs per Set (Kiley McPeek – 4.90)
* 102nd – Aces per Set (Kiley McPeek – 0.35)
* 134th – Blocks per Set (Jenna Phelps – 1.07)
* 145th – Hitting Percentage (Jenna Phelps – .325)
* 234th – Blocks per Set (Jada Stackhouse – 0.98)
 
IVY RANKINGS: The Big Red ranks in the top half of the Ivy League in …
* Digs – 1st (17.30)
* Assists – 2nd (12.76)
* Kills – 2nd (13.61)
* Service Aces – 4th (1.30)
* Opponent Hitting Percentage – 4th (.197)
 
INDIVIDUAL IVY RANKINGS: Big Red players rank in the Ivy League in …
* Hitting Percentage – Jenna Phelps (7th – .325)
* Kills per Set – Samanta Arenas (7th – 2.83); Emily Wemhoff (8th – 2.81)
* Assists per Set – Zoe Chamness (7th – 5.92)
* Service Aces per Set – Jenna Phelps (1st – 0.51); Kiley McPeek (4th – 0.35)
* Blocks per Set – Jenna Phelps (4th – 1.07)
* Digs per Set – Kiley McPeek (1st – 4.90); Samanta Arenas (9th – 2.97)
* Points per Set – Samanta Arenas (7th – 3.20)
 
DIGS A LOT: Kiley McPeek leads the conference with 4.90 digs per set. That mark is the highest by a Cornell player since Natasha Rowland averaged 5.67 digs during the 2014 season.
 
KEEPING PACE: Cornell entered last weekend ranked third in the Ivy League standings with a record of 6-4 against Ancient Eight opponents. The last time the Big Red sat in the top half of the conference standings that late in the season came during the 2006 campaign, as the Big Red took an 8-2 record into the final two weekend of Ivy League play.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
* Kiley McPeek was named the Ivy League Player of the Week after helping Cornell to its first Ivy League weekend sweep since 2012, as the Big Red downed Princeton and Penn.
* It was the first Ivy weekly award of McPeek's career and she becomes just the second libero to take home the honor since Penn's Dani Shepard won it multiple times during the 2012 campaign.
* McPeek averaged 7.38 digs per set during the weekend and had 53 service receptions without a single error.
* She registered 35 digs against the Tigers, the most digs in the Ivy League this season, surpassing her own mark of 31 vs. Binghamton. It was also the 14th most digs in the NCAA this season for a four-set match.
* The mark is good for 13th place in Cornell history for digs in a match, and third overall for digs in a four-set match.
* After leading the Big Red to a thrilling 3-1 victory over Columbia on Sept. 23, senior Emily Wemhoff was named the Ivy League Player of the Week.
* The honor was the first of Wemhoff's career and the first for the Big Red this season.
* Wemhoff recorded a career-high 23 kills as the only Cornell player to reach double-digits. 
* The 23 kills are the most in the Ivy League so far this season and also rank 17th in the Cornell history for kills in a four-set match.
* Wemhoff finished the match with a .405 hitting percentage (23-6-42), the best single-game performance of her career, to go along with four digs, two assists and one block.
 
THE SWITCH: Two of Cornell's biggest contributors this season – Kiley McPeek and Chelsa Sincox – are playing positions that are significantly different than when they arrived on East Hill. McPeek joined the Big Red as an outside hitter and moved into the Libero role midway through the 2016 season. Sincox has spent the past three seasons as one of the team's top defensive specialists, before becoming one of the team's primary setters in the 2017 campaign.
 
DID YOU KNOW?:
* 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 … During the summer of 2016, she did an internship in Istanbul, Turkey and was in the country during an attempted coup d'état.
* 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 ... Her brother graduated from Cornell.
* Kara Rogers lived in Germany for a year … Her sister is a member of the Yale swimming team.
* Maddy Sroufe's younger sister plays volleyball at VCU.
 
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM:
* Through the first two tournaments of the season, Kiley McPeek picked up a pair of all-tournament selections (JMU's Tropical Smoothie Invitational; Big Red Invitational).
* Emily Wemhoff was named to the Big Red Invitational All-Tournament team. 
* Kit McCarty and Kara Rogers were named to the Colgate Invitational All-Tournament Team.
 
BIG RED INVITATIONAL: Cornell came out of the Big Red Invitational with two wins for the first time since 2007, and just missed out on earning its first tournament title since 2005, as St. John's took the crown by tiebreaker (set winning percentage). 
 
RECAPPING 2016: Coming off its best performance since 2008, Cornell finished the 2016 season with a 12-12 record overall, posting six more victories than it did the year prior, the best single-season turnaround since the 2003 team went 21-4 following a 14-12 performance in 2002. With its record of 6-8 in the Ivy League, the Big Red finished fifth in the conference standings for its highest finish since the 2008 team placed third.
 
UP NEXT: This weekend's contests conclude the 2017 volleyball season.