Volleyball Set to Make 2015 Home Debut vs. Cornell, Columbia

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island – Brown University volleyball plays on its home court for the first time in 2015 when the Bears host Ivy League rivals Cornell University on Friday at 7 p.m. and Columbia University on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Pizzitola Center.

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LAST TIME OUT
Brown challenged defending Ivy League champion Yale in an eventual, 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-15, 25-21), setback at the Bulldogs' Lee Amphitheater on Sept. 25 in the Ivy opener for both teams. Freshman Sabrina Stillwell (Laguna Beach, Calif.) led the Bears with 15 kills while sophomore libero Melissa Cairo (Hillsborough, Calif.) tallied a match-high 21 digs.

AT THE NET
Freshman Sabrina Stillwell (Laguna Beach, Calif.) ranks third in the Ivy League in total kills (141) and fourth in the conference in kills per set (3.36). Stillwell has earned the league's Rookie of the Week Award twice and has posted double-digit kills in 10 of 12 matches.

Junior Payton Smith (Atherton, Calif.) paces the Bears from the middle, averaging 2.71 kills per set with a .325 hitting percentage. She won CCSU Invitational MVP honors while hitting .900 – the second-highest, single-match mark in school history – vs. Holy Cross at the tournament.

DEFENSE AND PASSING
Sophomore Melissa Cairo (Hillsborough, Calif.) has moved into the libero position for Brown this fall and stands atop the Ancient Eight in both digs per set (5.13) and total digs (205). She has notched double-digit digs in 11 of 12 contests.

Junior Sarah Lucenti (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and senior Rachele Killian (Laguna Beach, Calif.) have rotated at the setter spot, distributing 5.43 and 5.31 assists per set respectively.

THE MATCH-UPS IN 2014
Brown swept both Cornell and Columbia last season, tallying a combined 4-0 record against the two opponents. The Bears took 3-2 decisions at home over both the Lions and the Big Red in the first half of the series in October and gained 3-1 wins on the road at both adversaries in November.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Cornell brings a 4-7 overall record and a 0-1 Ivy mark into the weekend as the Big Red fell to Columbia, 3-1, in its Ivy opener. Three different players have averaged over two kills per set in Emily Wemhoff, Macey Wilson (who ranks third in the league with 1.05 blocks per set), and Carla Sganderlla. Chelsea Sincox ranks fifth in the Ivy League with 4.07 digs per set.

Columbia carries a 3-7 overall mark and a 1-0 Ivy record into the weekend, including its 3-1 win over Cornell. Two Lions rank in the league's top five in blocks in Katarina Jovicic (second, 1.10 b/s) and Kesi Neblett (fourth, 1.03 b/s). Zoe Jacobs stands fifth in the league with 3.19 kills per set while Cassie Wes ranks third in the conference with 4.33 digs per set.

COMING SOON
After hosting Cornell and Columbia, the Bears will continue Ivy play at Harvard University on Friday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. and at Dartmouth College on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 5 p.m.

IVY LEAGUE DIGITAL NETWORK
Video of all home contests and all Ivy League games, home and away, will be broadcast live on ILDN.TV/BROWN. Fans can subscribe and view games by purchasing yearly, monthly, weekly or daily packages.