After last week’s thrilling victory over Dartmouth, the volleyball team is gearing up for another big performance in this weekend’s back-to-back matches against Yale and Brown.

The Red (5-10, 2-2 Ivy) will play host to the Bulldogs (12-2, 2-1 Ivy) tonight in Newman Arena, and will then face off with the Bears (4-10, 0-3 Ivy) tomorrow afternoon. The back-to-back matches will be a chance for the Red to prove its ability to perform consistently, and emerge with a win on both Friday and Saturday.

“I think what the team really wants to do is be more consistent for both matches,” said head coach Sarah Bernson. “We split last weekend…but the fact that we turned it around on Saturday shows the team that they can perform well.”

However, the Red will need to be at its very best this weekend in order to defeat both teams.

Yale, the 2008 Ivy League Championship team, has been a dominant force — both offensively and defensively — throughout the entire season. The Bulldogs went undefeated for eight straight matches before finally losing, 3-2, last Saturday to Penn. The team is led by senior outside hitters Alexis Crusey and Cat Dailey, both of whom were members of the All-Ivy first team last season. Set in motion: Sophomore outside hitter Meagan Tatum serves during the Red’s Sept. 19 loss to Buffalo in Newman Arena.

“Yale is pretty solid, and they’ve definitely recruited well,” said senior co-captain and libero Megan Mushovic. “It’s going to be a challenge … and we need to come out strong.”

Brown, on the other hand, has yet to win a match in Ivy play. The Bears enter this weekend on four straight losses, with their last victory dating back to September 26. However, this does not by any means imply that Brown will be a pushover. In fact, the Bears may prove to be very challenging opponents, with a fierce drive to earn their first Ivy victory.

“[Brown] is tenacious and scrappy, so we really have to be disciplined and be prepared for a lot of quick plays,” Bernson explained.

Perhaps the most difficult task for the Red, though, will be the adjustment to two entirely different playing styles.

“[Yale and Brown] are both very different teams,” said sophomore setter Jordan Reeder. “The biggest obstacle will be playing one system on Friday night and turning around to play a totally different system on Saturday.”

To counter this problem, the Red will need to be consistent on the court, regardless of the team on the other side of the net.

“This weekend, we’ve got to be disciplined,” Bernson said. “We have to keep the tempo consistent on our side … we can’t let the pace be dictated by our opponents.”

Bernson also added that if the team is successful in these matches, Cornell volleyball fans may very well see a turnaround in their team’s season.

“If we can do well this weekend, that means we’re able to adjust to different opponents, and that will give us confidence going into next weekend,” she explained.

For now, though, the Red is going to tackle its matches one at a time and will continue to maintain a positive attitude.

“We’ve just got to stay motivated, stay fueled, and stay confident,” said Mushovic. “We know we can do it.”