ITHACA, N.Y. – With three matches under its belt, the Cornell volleyball team is eager to return to East Hill this Friday and Saturday to open its home slate when it hosts Bucknell, Niagara, and UNLV in the annual Cornell Invitational on Sept. 10-11 at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
Game Information:
Cornell vs. UNLV
DATE/TIME: Friday, Sept. 10, 2021 at 7 p.m.
SITE: Newman Arena – Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 2-1, 0-0 Ivy League / UNLV 4-2, 0-0 Mountain West
BROADCAST: ESPN+ (es.pn/3h8S9P9)
STATS: cornellbigred.com (cornellbigred.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary)
GAME NOTES
Cornell vs. Niagara
DATE/TIME: Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 at 11 a.m.
SITE: Newman Arena – Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 2-1, 0-0 Ivy League / Niagara 2-4, 0-0 MAAC
BROADCAST: ESPN+ (es.pn/3BR4Plx)
STATS: cornellbigred.com (cornellbigred.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary)
GAME NOTES
Cornell vs. Bucknell
DATE/TIME: Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 at 5 p.m.
SITE: Newman Arena – Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 2-1, 0-0 Ivy League / Bucknell 3-3, 0-0 Patriot League
BROADCAST: ESPN+ (es.pn/3jZT4U1)
STATS: cornellbigred.com (cornellbigred.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary)
GAME NOTES
What's on Tap:
• Cornell will host Mountain West opponent UNLV (receiving votes) in the team's home opener on Friday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. before returning to Newman Arena for a pair of matches on Saturday, Sept. 11 against Niagara at 11 a.m. and Bucknell at 5 p.m.
• All three of the Big Red's weekend contests, along with all Cornell home games and all Ivy League road games, will be broadcast on ESPN+. ESPN+ is available to fans in the U.S. for $4.99/event, $6.99/month, or $69.99/year (http://plus.espn.com/). A similar international platform at the same price point is available for fans outside of the U.S., featuring both live and archived games.
• Spectators are permitted at the Cornell Invitational, but must be masked at all times and should socially distance when possible. Cornell athletics is currently following University COVID-19 guidelines (https://covid.cornell.edu/).
Last Time Out:
• Cornell opened its season last weekend at UAlbany's Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Hotel Volleyball Classic, going 2-1 in its first weekend of play.
• The Big Red secured a hard-fought, 3-1 (26-28, 27-25, 25-23, 25-19) victory over St. John's on Friday, with Joanna Chang and Emma Worthington notching double-doubles. Chang led the Big Red in kills (15) and digs (18), while Worthington recorded a match-high 53 assists and 12 digs. Worthington's 53 assists were more than the entire Red Storm team for the match (51). Madison Baptiste also recorded 15 kills in the win.
• Cornell tallied 13 service aces in the victory, the ninth-most in program history for a four-set match. Kate Stration (5) and Worthington (4) combined for nine of the team's 13 aces, and in comparison, St. John's had three aces for the entire match.
• Kate Stration's five service aces ranks seventh all-time in Cornell history individually for a four-set match.
• The Big Red split its pair of matches on Saturday, cruising past Colgate, 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-13), before falling to host UAlbany, 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 23-25, 23-25).
• Following the tournament, Emma Worthington was named the Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Hotel Volleyball Classic Most Valuable Player. Joanna Chang and Casey Justus earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.
Coaching Ties:
• Friday's contest against UNLV will be the first time that Cornell head coach Trudy Vande Berg will square off against UNLV head coach Dawn Sullivan, but the pair is familiar with each other.
• Prior to being named the head coach at UNLV in January 2018, Sullivan spent 13 seasons as an assistant and associate head coach at Iowa State.
• Before coming to Cornell, Vande Berg served as an assistant coach alongside Sullivan from 2009-12.
• To take things one step further, Cornell associate head coach Caitlin Mahoney Hager played for the Cyclones during that time frame (from 2008-11) and was coached by both Sullivan and Vande Berg.
About UNLV:
• UNLV, who is receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll, is off to a 4-2 start this season, recently defeating then-No. 25 Washington State, 3-1, for its first win over a ranked opponent since 2016. Both of the Rebels' losses this season have come to ranked opponents, as then-No. 8 Purdue and then-No.15 BYU both swept UNLV, 3-0.
• With her first kill in the match against Washington State, fifth-year senior Mariena Hayden moved into sole possession of second place in career kills at UNLV. At the conclusion of the contest, she had 1,517 in a Rebel uniform, which also made her just the second student-athlete in UNLV history to record 1,500 kills. UNLV's career kills record, which is held by Maria Aladjova (2004-07), is 1,601.
• UNLV played a mid-week tilt against Colgate on Wednesday evening before this weekend's tournament, defeating the Raiders, 3-1.
The Series vs. UNLV:
• Friday's contest will be the third meeting between the two schools, with UNLV winning both of the previous matchups.
• The two teams last met at Seton Hall's Tournament in 2014, with UNLV sweeping the Big Red, 3-0 (30-32, 21-25, 20-25), on Sept. 5, 2014 in South Orange, N.J.
• Cornell is 1-8 all-time against Mountain West opponents, with its lone victory coming in 2019 when the Big Red swept Utah State, 3-0, at the USF/St. Mary's Tournament in Moraga, Calif.
About Niagara:
• Niagara currently holds a 2-4 record, with its two victories coming in its opening weekend of play at the Colonel Classic, hosted by Nicholls, on Aug. 27-28. The Purple Eagles defeated Southern and Texas Southern each by a score of 3-1.
• Jaycie Roberts and Bella Peroni earned MAAC weekly awards after Niagara went 2-1 at the Colonel Classic. Roberts was named the MAAC Player of the Week after recording three straight double doubles. Peroni was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week after starting at libero in all three matches and posting a career-high 27 digs against Texas Southern.
• The Purple Eagles will be looking to get back in the win column this weekend after losing all-three of its matches at the Windy City Classic, hosted by Chicago State, last weekend. Niagara was unable to win a single set at the tournament, being swept by the host Cougars, Charlotte, and North Dakota State.
The Series vs. Niagara:
• Cornell holds a distinct 12-1 advantage over the Purple Eagles dating back to 1979.
• The last meeting between the two schools came the last time the Big Red hosted the Cornell Invitational in 2019, with the Big Red sweeping Niagara, 3-0.
• The Big Red is a dominant 41-9 in program history over MAAC opponents.
About Bucknell:
• Bucknell is currently .500 on the season (3-3). The Bison went 2-1 at the Delaware State Invitational on Aug. 27-28, defeating St. Francis Brooklyn in five, 3-2, and sweeping Saint Peter's, 3-0, while falling to the host Hornets, 3-0.
• The Bison went 1-2 last weekend at the Penn Invitational, defeating Canisius, 3-1, but falling to Coppin State, 3-1, and Ivy League member Penn, 3-0.
The Series vs. Bucknell:
• The Big Red has had great success against the Bison over the years, holding a 14-2 advantage in the series going all the way back to 1984.
• The two teams last met in 2016 when the Big Red swept Bucknell, 3-0, in the Bison's home tournament on Sept. 16, 2016 in Lewisburg, Pa.
• Cornell has handled Patriot League opponents over the years, holding a 91-43-1 record against current members of the conference.
Cornell in the NCAA Rankings:
• After the first weekend of play, Emma Worthington currently ranks fifth in all of Division I and leads the Ivy League in assists per set (11.91). She is a key reason why Cornell sits sixth in the nation and leads the conference in assists per set (13.73) as a team.
• Cornell also ranks ninth as a team in all of Division I and leads the Ivy League in kills per set (14.73). Madison Baptiste currently leads the Big Red in this category, averaging 3.64 kills per set.
• Kate Stration was serving up straight fire last weekend, notching eight aces in three matches. As a result, she currently ranks 11th in the nation in aces per set (0.73) and is a big part of why the Big Red ranks 14th in Division I as a team in aces per set (2.18).
Cornell in the Ivy Rankings:
• Emma Worthington leads the conference in assists per set (11.91) and sits seventh in service aces per set (0.45).
• Kate Stration ranks second in the conference in service aces per set (0.73).
• Madison Baptiste ranks third in the conference in kills per set (3.64) and seventh in points per set (3.91).
• Casey Justus ranks sixth in the conference in hitting percentage (.353).
• Jackie Baker ranks seventh in the conference in service aces per set (0.45) and 10th in digs per set (3.64).
• Joanna Chang ranks eighth in the conference in kills per set (3.36) and points per set (3.77).
• Sydney Moore ranks 10th in the conference in hitting percentage (.306) and blocks per set (0.91).
Big Red Statistical Leaders:
• In kills – Madison Baptiste (40)
• In assists – Emma Worthington (131)
• In service aces – Kate Stration (8)
• In digs – Jackie Baker (40)
• In blocks – Sydney Moore (10.0)
• In hitting percentage – Casey Justus (.353)
A Look Back in Time:
• The Big Red posted its best season since 2006 in 2019 before the cancelation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, notching a 17-6 overall record, including an 8-4 mark in Ivy League play.
• The team's 17 wins in 2019 were the most for Cornell since the team won 18 matches in 2006.
• Cornell has finished third in the Ivy League in each of the last three seasons in which it has competed. (2017, 2018, 2019). This stretch has marked the best seasons for the Big Red since the team won three conference titles followed by a second place finish from 2003-06.
• Cornell has been selected to finish third once again in 2021, per the Ivy League Preseason Poll. 2019 Ivy League co-champions Yale and Princeton were predicted to be the top-two teams in the league in 2021, with Yale being chosen as the preseason favorite to win the conference and Princeton being chosen second.
The Landscape:
• The Big Red returns seven upperclassmen from the 2019 roster, including seniors Madison Baptiste, Jillienne Bennett, Avery Hanan, and Casey Justus and juniors Joanna Chang, Evan Reich, and Emma Worthington.
• Jillienne Bennett and Madison Baptiste both earned All-Ivy accolades in 2019, with Bennett being tabbed first team All-Ivy and Baptiste receiving second team distinction.
• Bennett ranked second on the Big Red in blocks and third in kills and points in 2019, while posting a .306 hitting percentage. She helped Cornell record the second-highest team single-season hitting percentage (.261) in program history.
• Madison Baptiste and Joanna Chang serve as dual threats, making an impact in the back row and at the net. Baptiste led the Big Red in kills (205), kills per set (2.81), and points per set (3.07), while ranking second in digs and digs per set in 2019.
• Chang owned Cornell's best receiving percentage in 2019, committing only 17 errors on 340 attempts, while ranking third on the team in digs per set and kills per set. She was a serving threat as well, sitting second on the team in aces and ranking third in the Ivy League in aces per set at the conclusion of the season.
• Setter Emma Worthington returns after serving as one of the team's two primary setters and leading the team in assists (511) in 2019.
• The remaining 10 student-athletes on the Big Red roster are in their first season of competition with the Big Red. The sophomore class of Rylee Baptiste, Sydney Moore, Alexa Orent, and Kate Stration will look to make an impact this year after not having the opportunity to do so in 2020.
• Freshmen Jackie Baker, Megan Bickel, Camryn Carlo, Brooke Cooper, Sammie Engel, and Jordan Quinones add even more fresh faces to the Big Red roster.
• The 2021 Cornell roster features a sister act in senior outside hitter Madison Baptiste and sophomore setter Rylee Baptiste.
• Trudy Vande Berg is now in her seventh season as the Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach of Volleyball at Cornell, owning a 63-58 record.
• The 2017 Ivy League Coach of the Year, Vande Berg has helped establish the Big Red as a top-tier team in the Ivy League, as Cornell has finished third in each of the last three seasons in which it has competed from 2017-19.
• Vande Berg is assisted by associate head coach Caitlin Mahoney Hager and assistant coach Aaron DeKalb. Hager was promoted from assistant to associate head coach prior to the 2020 season after seven successful seasons on staff. DeKalb returns to the sideline in 2021 for his second coaching stint with the Big Red, having also been on staff with Vande Berg and Hager as an assistant from 2016-18. He most recently served as an assistant coach at the University of Mary for two seasons.
Up Next:
• The Big Red will close-out its non-conference slate when it travels to Durham, N.C. to compete in the Duke Invitational on Sept. 17-18. Cornell will play a pair of matches on Friday, Sept. 17 against LIU at 12 p.m. and North Carolina Central at 5 p.m. before playing the host Blue Devils on Saturday, Sept. 18 at 2:30 p.m.
