MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH #1: Cornell vs. Buffalo
MATCH TIME: Friday, Aug. 31, 2018; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 15-6-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 3-1; Sept. 17, 2016
2018 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy); Buffalo (3-0, 0-0 MAC)
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball
LIVE VIDEO: https://watch.espnplus.com/sports/     
 
MATCH #2: Cornell vs. Siena
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018; 10:00 a.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 6-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 3-2; Sept. 6, 2014
* 2018 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy); Siena (0-3, 0-0 MAAC)
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball
LIVE VIDEO: https://watch.espnplus.com/sports/     
 
MATCH #3: Cornell vs. St. John's
MATCH TIME: Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018; 7:00 p.m.
MATCH SITE: Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: St. John's leads, 3-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 3-0; Sept. 9, 2017
* 2018 RECORDS: Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy); St. John's (4-0, 0-0 Big East)
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/wvball
LIVE VIDEO: https://watch.espnplus.com/sports/     
 
* records prior to Friday evening's contest.
 
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
 
THE CORNELL INVITATIONAL: The Big Red volleyball team opens up the home portion of the 2018 season this weekend as it hosts the Cornell Invitational. The home opener comes against Buffalo on Friday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. The following day, the Big Red will face Siena at 10 a.m., before closing the tournament against St. John's at 7:00 p.m. The Cornell Invitational opens when Siena faces St. John's on Friday at 5 p.m. Additional games on Saturday will feature St. John's vs. Buffalo (1:00 p.m.), and Binghamton vs. Siena (5:00 p.m.).

* Parking on the Cornell campus is restricted on weekdays prior to 5 p.m. Visitors arriving on Friday before 5 p.m. will need to visit a Parking Information booth, as all lots around central campus require permits until that time. There are also several metered lots on campus that can be utilized. 

PRESEASON POLL:  Cornell was picked to finish fourth overall with 79 points in the 2018 Ivy League Volleyball Preseason Media Poll.
* The Big Red came in behind third-place Harvard (97 points). Cornell and the Crimson tied for third in the conference standings in 2017, the highest finish for Cornell since 2006.
* Princeton (135 points) was picked to win its fourth-straight Ivy League title, edging second-place Yale by just 15 points.
* Rounding out the poll were Penn with 68 points, Columbia with 49 points, Dartmouth with 48 points and Brown with 20 points.
 
SEASON OPENERS: Cornell is 27-16-1 all-time in season openers. Since 1995, the Big Red is an impressive 14-7 in the first match of the season.
 
THE SERIES VS. BUFFALO: Cornell holds a 15-6-1 advantage all-time against the Bulls in a series that began in 1974. The teams split the first three meetings with each squad winning once and tying one time. The Big Red went on to win eight straight contests from 1979 to 1981 before the series took a decade-long break. Since resuming in the 1993 season, the Big Red has taken a slim 6-5 lead after a 3-1 victory during the 2016 season.
 
VS. THE MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE: Cornell is 16-17-1 against the current members of the Mid-American Conference, thanks mostly to a 15-6-1 record against Buffalo. The Big Red also has a winning record against Western Michigan (1-0), but a losing mark against Akron (0-5), Bowling Green (0-1), Central Michigan (0-1) and Kent State (0-4). Cornell has never faced Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, Ohio University or Toledo ... Coach Vande Berg is 1-0 all-time vs. the MAC.
 
THE SERIES VS. SIENA: Cornell holds a 6-1 advantage all-time against the Saints in a series that began in 1995. The 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 with consecutive victories in 2010 at 2014.
 
VS. THE METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC CONFERENCE: Cornell has had a great deal of success vs. the current members of the MAAC, going a combined 36-9 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 (6-1). 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 ... Coach Vande Berg is 0-0 all-time vs. the MAAC.
 
THE SERIES VS. ST. JOHN'S: The Red Storm holds a 3-1 lead in the series with Cornell after the Big Red registered its first-ever win against SJU last year at the Cornell Invitational. Each of St. John's first two victories (2006, 2009) came during the Cornell Invitational … Head coach Trudy Vande Berg is 1-1 all-time vs. St. John's.
 
VS. THE BIG EAST: Cornell is 8-11 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),) and Villanova (2-2) are tied. Cornell has a losing record against Georgetown (1-2), Seton Hall (2-4), and St. John's (1-3) but has never faced Creighton, DePaul, Marquette, or Xavier in volleyball.
 
THE HEAD COACH: Trudy Vande Berg, the 2017 Ivy League Coach of the Year, is in her fourth season as The Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach Of Volleyball at Cornell (30-41, .423) ... 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.
 
RECAPPING 2017: Vande Berg was voted the 2017 Ivy League Coach of the Year by her peers after leading the Big Red to its best season in more than a decade. Cornell finished the year with a 12-11 record overall and a mark of 8-6 in the Ivy League, tied with Harvard for third place in the conference standings. The eight Ivy League wins were the most for Cornell since the 2006 season, which was also the last time the Big Red finished in third place in the conference. The team posted a 9-1 record in Newman Arena, the most home wins in a season since 2006, and the best winning percentage since the 2005 squad was a perfect 12-0 in Ithaca. Under Vande Berg's guidance, Cornell lead the Ivy League in digs per set and ranked in the top half of the conference in opponent hitting percentage (second), assists (second), kills (second), blocks (third) and service aces (third).
 
TICKLE THE ALL-IVY: Trudy Vande Berg was voted the 2017 Ivy League Coach of the Year by her peers after leading the Big Red to its best season in more than a decade. In addition to Vande Berg, Kiley McPeek (first-team), Jenna Phelps (second-team), and Kit McCarty (honorable mention) were also named to the All-Ivy team.
 
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: Madison Baptiste, Kelly Behrbaum, Jillienne Bennett, Avery Hanan, Blake Hollis, and Casey Justus have joined the Big Red for the upcoming 2018 season. The six student-athletes all hail from different states, and the group consists of two pin hitters, two middle blockers, one right side hitter, and one outside hitter.
 
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: Ten new members, including volleyball great Joanna Weiss, have been selected for induction into the Cornell University Athletics Hall of Fame at the 41st annual ceremonies to be held Saturday, Sept. 22 on the Cornell campus. Weiss was a two-time first-team All-Ivy League selection and is one of just two Big Red athletes to be named to the AVCA All-Northeast Region team, earning honorable mention honors as a senior. The school's career leader in hitting percentage (.384), she ranks in the top 10 in blocks per set (second, 1.29), block assists (sixth, 262) and blocks (ninth, 297) and among the top 20 in kills, kills per set, solo blocks, points and points per set.
 
UP NEXT: The Big Red hits the road next weekend for the University of Houston's Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup. Cornell takes on Lamar on Friday, Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. CST, before it faces the host Cougars at 7 p.m. CST. The Big Red returns the next day to take UTSA (9:30 a.m. CST) and Houston Baptist (2:30 p.m. CST).