ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell volleyball team will celebrate homecoming this weekend with two Ivy League matches against Dartmouth and Harvard.

Game Info

Cornell vs. Dartmouth 
SITE: Newman Arena at Bartels Hall – Ithaca, N.Y.
DATE and TIME: Friday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m.
RECORDS: Cornell (3-7, 1-0 Ivy League), Dartmouth (3-7, 0-1 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 45-23
BROADCAST: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: cornellbigred.com

Cornell vs. Harvard
SITE: Newman Arena at Bartels Hall – Ithaca, N.Y.
DATE and TIME: Saturday, Sept. 30 at 5 p.m.
RECORDS: Cornell (3-7, 1-0 Ivy League), Harvard (8-2, 1-0 Ivy League)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 44-30
BROADCAST: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: cornellbigred.com

Week in Review: Lions Tamed
Cornell opened up Ivy League play this past Saturday with a 3-1 win over Columbia from Levien Gymnasium in New York, N.Y. Sophomore OH /RS Nicole Mallus had a big night for the Big Red, netting a career-high 17 kills, a .333 hitting percentage, and a service ace in the victory. Sophomore OH Eliza Konvicka also had a good showing with 15 kills, 11 digs, and three service aces for Cornell, who have now won nine out of the last matchups against the Lions, including four straight.

Other notables for the Big Red in the win included junior MB Camryn Carlo (eight kills, .533 hitting percentage, and team-high five blocks), senior MB Sydney Moore (three kills, three blocks, team-high .600 hitting percentage) and sophomore setter Doga Ozalp, who had 39 assists. 

As a team, the Big Red led every statistical category in the triumph over the Lions, including assists (47-39), blocks (9.0-7.0), hitting percentage (.295-.198), kills (52-48), and service aces (6-4). It is also the third consecutive match that Cornell has led in blocks, dating back to its three-set sweep of Morgan State in Newman Arena on Sept. 15. 

A Look Inside the Matchups

Vs. Dartmouth

• Friday's match between the Big Red and Big Green will be the 69th all-time.
• Cornell has lost five consecutive matches against Dartmouth. Its last win was a sweep of the Big Green on Oct. 11, 2019, in Newman Arena at Bartels Hall.
• The Big Green went 16-9 overall and 8-6 in Ivy League action last season, locking up the fourth seed in the conference postseason tournament. Dartmouth would be swept in the semifinals by eventual champion Yale. 
• Dartmouth comes into Friday's match 3-7 overall and 0-1 in Ivy League play. The Big Green are also on a two-match losing streak after dropping this past weekend's Ivy League opener to Harvard in four sets (Sept. 22) and New Hampshire on Sept. 23, 1-3. 

Scouting Report

• Sophomore OH Kauany Gutz has led the attack so far for Dartmouth with 66 kills in 2023. Senior MB Amelia Gibbs is right behind Gutz with 60 on the season and leads the Big Green in hitting percentage with a .348, good for sixth in the Ivy League. 
• Senior setter Karen Murphy has been an ace machine with 13 on the season, which is third in the conference. Her 0.35 aces per set is also fourth in the Ivy coming into the weekend. 
• Fifth-year setter Makenzie Arent is the assists leader for the green and white with 194 on the year. The Spring, Texas native also has had 20 or more assists in six of Dartmouth's ten matches in 2023.
• As a team, the Big Green sits in the bottom two in the conference in assists/set (9.95). hitting percentage (.160) and total kills (416). 
• Despite those metrics, the green and white has clamped down on blocks given up to its opponents per set, as it sits second in the conference with a 2.23. 
• Dartmouth has also been coming up aces in the service department, as its 67 as a team puts them second in the conference behind Harvard, who has 73. 

Vs. Harvard

• Saturday's matchup between the Big Red and Crimson will be the 75th all-time.
• Cornell has won five of the last seven matches, dating back to Oct. 28, 2017, when the Big Red secured a four-set win in Massachusetts.
• The Crimson went 5-17 overall and 4-10 in Ivy League action last season, finishing sixth in the conference. 
• Despite a step back in 2022, Harvard has turned it on so far this season, as it comes into the weekend at the top of the Ivy League at 8-2 overall. The Crimson is also 1-0 in conference play after taking down Dartmouth on the road in four sets on Sept. 22. 

Scouting Report

• Senior OH/RS Katie Vorhies has been the attack catalyst for the Crimson in 2023, as she leads the team in total kills (105) and kills/set (2.84). The Ozark, Mo. native has also had ten or more kills in six of Harvard's ten matches this season.
• Senior attacker/setter Ashley Wang has been a swiss army knife for Harvard this season. Wang currently leads the team in assists (199) and is second in kills (96). But Wang does a lot of damage with her serve, as she sits at the top of the conference with 26 total aces and 0.68 aces/set, with nine coming in a four-set win over Holy Cross on Sept. 2.
• Senior DS/L Lindsey Wang Zhang has 126 total digs on the season for Harvard, good for sixth in the Ivy League. First-year player Ryleigh Patterson comes into the weekend with 42.0 blocks, tied with Cornell's Camryn Carlo for fourth in the conference. 
• The Harvard defense has been an attack nightmare for its opponents this season, as the team is second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.165). 
• The Crimson have denied block parties for its opponents so far this season, as they sit at the top of the Ivy in total blocks (67.0) and blocks/set (1.76). On the offensive side, the team also has 97.0 on the year, which tops the conference.
• Harvard also sits at the top of the conference in service aces (73.0) and aces per set (1.92).   

Up Next

After Friday and Saturday's matches, Cornell will welcome Yale and Brown to the Newman Arena at Bartels Hall for a weekend slate. The Big Red play the Bulldogs on Friday, Oct. 6 at 7:00 p.m. before facing off against the Brown on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 5:00 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.