Colligan Paces Colgate to Sweep At Bucknell
Maureen Colligan had 13 kills at Bucknell
10/31/2009 12:09:26 AM
LEWISBURG, PA. (10/30/09) – Maureen Colligan (Odessa, Fla.) posted a match-high 13 kills as Colgate recovered from deficits in every set en route to posting a 27-25, 25-20, 25-22 victory over Bucknell, Friday evening in a Patriot League volleyball clash between travel partners. It was the Raiders’ third consecutive win.
Colgate, which improved to 12-11 over and 8-2 in league action, also received nine kills from Kaleigh Durket (El Dorado Hills, Calif), eight from Kaylee Dougherty (Landisville, Pa.) and seven each from Casey Ritt (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Logan Keala (Kaneohe, Hawaii) in the three-set sweep.
“We showed tremendous composure tonight,” said Colgate head coach Ryan Baker, who watched his squad move over the .500 mark for the first time since the season opener. “In sets one and three we were down by some pretty large margins, but we fought back. This team
is really starting to demonstrate great maturity and believe in one
another.”
The Raiders recovered from a 21-17 deficit in the opening set. Back-to-back kills by Durket and Dougherty eventually knotted the set at 22-22. The game was tied twice more before the Raiders needed to fight off a set point. Colgate received kills from Colligan and Ritt to regain the lead at 26-25 and won the set on an attack error by Bucknell.
The Raiders trailed 14-8 in the third set before storming back. After a Bison serving error, Colgate scored five consecutive points off the serve by Keala, the last one being a service ace. With the game all square at 20-20, Colgate won five of the next seven points to close out the match.
“Our serve receive was solid all night, especially at crucial moments during the match,” said Baker. Anytime you pass like we did tonight, you give yourself a chance to come out on top. Our back row was really strong and our setters delivered the right sets at the right time. This was
an extremely good road win in a very tough environment.”
Defensively, Devon Applegate (Davidson, N.C.) and Durket led the way with 13 and 12 digs respectively, while Dougherty led the blocking efforts with a solo and three block assists.
In the victory, senior Meghan Fanta (Hillsboro, Wisc.) moved into seventh on the all-time Patriot League assist charts with a 30-assist performance. She passed former Lehigh setter Patty Watson in the all-time list and now is within 113 of moving into sixth.
Bucknell, which fell to 8-14 overall and 4-6 in league play, was paced by Kaitlin Segal’s 12-kill performance.
Colgate returns to the road next week to take on Lafayette and Lehigh. Friday nights clash at Lafayette begins at 7 p.m.
Final Box