ON TAP THIS WEEK: After posting two more victories to push its record over the .500 mark for the first time since the season opener, Colgate volleyball takes to the road one final time in the regular-season to play a pair in the Keystone State. The Raiders square off with Lafayette Friday evening at 7 p.m. in Easton before playing a 4 p.m. match in Bethlehem versus Lehigh. Colgate will be looking to finish a season sweep of both the Leopards and Mountain Hawks. The Raiders have won three in a row and six of their last seven matches. Colgate, which stands second in league play with an 8-2 mark heading into the weekend, has already clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament.
MEET THE COACH: Ryan Baker is in his fourth season at the helm of the Colgate program. The Utica, N.Y. native has taken the Raiders from the bottom of the Patriot League to the upper echelon in a short period of time. Baker sports a 58-52 record at Colgate after taking over the program for the 2006 season. In his second year, the Ithaca College graduate piloted the Raiders to a 17-13 overall record, the program’s first winning season since 1996. Colgate has advanced to the Patriot League Tournament final the last two years – defeating Army in a semifinal match-up both times before falling to American in the finale. After guiding Clarkson to a 22-11 record in 2004, Baker served as an assistant at Colgate for the 2005 season before being elevated.
LAST TIME OUT: Colgate posted its fifth three-set sweep of the year with a 27-25, 25-20, 25-22 victory at Bucknell, Friday evening. Maureen Colligan led the offensive attack with 13 kills. The sophomore was the lone Raider to eclipse the double figured kill total. Kaleigh Durket has nine kills, while Kaylee Dougherty posted eight. Colgate had to recover from 21-17 and 14-8 deficits in the opening and third sets respectively to prevail in three.
Colgate rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat visiting Binghamton 21-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-23, 15-11, Wednesday evening at Cotterell Court. It was the second five-set victory of the year for the Raiders. Kaleigh Durket hammered down a team best 17 kills and posted five blocks and Colgate enjoyed one of its best blocking efforts in years with 17 team blocks (one block solo and 32 block assists). Casey Ritt posted 11 kills in 22 swings and collected a career-high 10 blocks on the evening, besting her previous high of eight set against Cornell earlier this season. Maureen Colligan and Logan Keala each had 11 kills as well as Colgate evened the all-time series with Binghamton 9-9. As a team, the Raiders hit .279 (62-23-140).
STARTING DEBUT: Shannon Pearson received her first collegiate start in the victory over Binghamton and the freshman didn’t disappoint. A product of Thousand Oaks, Calif., Pearson tallied a season-best seven kills and seven blocks against the Bearcats. She scored the last two points to close out game three with a kill and a block solo.
THE SERIES RECORDS: Colgate owns a 29-13 edge in the series versus Lehigh, including winning its 10th straight over the Mountain Hawks earlier this year. The Raiders have won five consecutive matches over Lafayette and hold a commanding 33-7 advantage in the series.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION:
Lehigh heads into the meeting with a 12-13 record. The Mountain Hawks are still fighting for the fourth and final spot in the Patriot League Tournament. They edged arch-rival Lafayette 3-2 in their last outing to post their second win in a row. Since playing Colgate earlier, Lehigh is 2-2.
Top Performers
Brittany Dickinson – 541 assists
Angelika Kopacz – 284 kills, 36 aces, 286 digs
Mo McReynolds – 246 kills, 162 digs
Chelsea Sheridan – 179 kills, 60 blocks
Emma Melendez – 331 digs
Lafayette will carry a 12-11 overall record into its Friday evening match versus Bucknell. The Leopards have lost two in a row and five of their last six, including a 3-2 loss to Lehigh last weekend.
Top Players
Cara Mulholland – 242 kills, 205 digs
Kayly Elmer – 223 kills, 104 digs
Ashton Rossi – 708 assists, 25 aces
Kari Horn – 326 digs
Alana Taylor – 163 kills, 50 blocks
LAST TIME AGAINST THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS: Kaleigh Durket and Kaylee Dougherty combined for 21 kills as Colgate downed Lehigh 25-22, 25-9, 25-22 on October 16 at Cotterell Court. The Raiders posted eight team blocks in the victory over the Mountain Hawks. Casey Ritt led the team with six block assists. Devon Applegate posted a match-high 17 digs as Colgate won its 10th straight over Lehigh.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE LEOPARDS: Colgate had its most productive hitting display to date in a convincing 25-13, 25-19, 25-11 victory over Lafayette to win its fifth straight over the Leopards on October 17. The Raiders pounded down 42 kills on 83 swings (only seven errors) for a .422 hitting percentage. Logan Keala was the lone player to reach double figures with 10 kills in 15 attacks, while Maureen Colligan was credited with nine kills. The trio of Kaylee Dougherty, Kaleigh Durket and Casey Ritt each had seven kills. For the second consecutive evening, Devon Applegate led the team with 17 digs.
POUNDING THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Kaylee Dougherty’s and Casey Ritt’s hitting percentages are significantly higher against league competition. In 10 matches, Dougherty is hitting .330 versus Patriot League foes with 100 kills in 215 swings (29 errors), while Ritt is swinging a shade under .300 (.295) with 78 kills in 183 attacks.
BLOCK PARTY: When Colgate posted 17 team blocks in its five-set victory over Binghamton, it marked the seventh time the Raiders had accrued 10 or more team blocks in a match. The previous season high was 14 (2 block solos and 24 block assists) as the Raiders downed American in four games in Washington D.C. It put an end to an 18-match losing streak to the Eagles. Casey Ritt (10 block assists), Shannon Pearson (1 block solo and six block assists) and Blaire Safir (seven block assists) each tallied career high block totals versus Binghamton.
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN: With her 10-block performance against Binghamton, Casey Ritt extended her lead in the Patriot League rankings in blocks per game. The junior is posting 0.98 blocks, 0.04 higher than American’s Claire Recht. Ritt has six matches of five or more blocks on the season, including her previous career-high eight versus Cornell on September 18, 2009.
DIGGING IT: Devon Applegate ranks second in the Patriot League in digs per game (3.98). The junior has tallied 10 or more digs in 19 of 23 matches this season, including five 20 plus efforts. On September 11, 2009, she posted a career-high 25 in a five-set loss to Long Island U. Applegate had four consecutive matches with 17 digs between October 9-23, following a season-low eight at Syracuse.
IN THE RANKINGS: Kaleigh Durket is ranked among the league leaders in three statistical categories – fifth in service aces (0.34), fifth in kills per game (3.17), and 10th in hitting percentage (.265). Recently, Casey Ritt moved ahead of Durket in hitting efficiency (.271), while Meghan Fanta is seventh in assists per set (6.56). Kaylee Dougherty stands seventh in the league in blocking (0.80 bps).
WHAT’S UP DOC: Over her past six matches, you might be pressed to find a hotter hitter on the Colgate roster than Kaylee Dougherty. Beginning with a four-set victory against Bucknell on October 9, the sophomore is hitting .3417 (57-16-120) during this span. Those numbers include one of her most efficient matches of her career with a .667 hitting efficiency (10-0-15) in a three-set win at Holy Cross.
BACK-TO-BACK: Kaleigh Durket was named the Patriot League Player of the Week following her efforts versus Syracuse and Bucknell. In her two matches, the freshman accounted for 27 kills (3.86 kps), a .290 hitting percentage, 15 digs, three blocks and one service ace. Durket posted a team-best 11 kills and a .364 hitting percentage against the Orange and then 16 kills and 12 digs against Bucknell. It marked the second consecutive week she received weekly honors. Durket was tabbed as the Rookie of the Week on October 12.
LENDING A HELPING HAND: Meghan Fanta moved into seventh on the all-time Patriot League assist list with her 30-assist performance against Bucknell. The senior is 113 assists away from passing Elita Powell of Army for sixth on the all-time league list. The all-time assist leader in Colgate history has 3,819 on her career. During her career she has established the single season school assist record (1,191 in 2006), the second highest assist total (1,149 in 2007), and the 10th best (902 in 2008).
All-Time PL Top 10
1. Beth Bellinger, Army (98-01) 4,380
2. Sue Snyder, Lehigh (92-95) 4,190
3. Abby Casciato, Army (02-05) 4,091
4. Maureen Bannon, Army (06-SA) 3,964
5. Christina Nash, American (05-08) 3,949
6. Elita Powell, Army (90-93) 3,931
7. Meghan Fanta, Colgate (2006-SA) 3,819
8. Patty Watson, Lehigh (95-98) 3,809
9. Shannon Pitsch, Bucknell (05-08) 3,614
10. Megan Carter, Lafayette (05-08) 3,556
PICKED SECOND IN THE PL: After advancing to back to back league tournament finales, Colgate was selected to finish second in the Patriot League Preseason Poll as determined by the league head coaches and volleyball media relation contacts at member institutions. American copped 12 of 16 first place votes and was the consensus choice to win its ninth consecutive league title. The Raiders collected three first place votes and 79 points to edge Army by one point in the voting.