Maureen Colligan was the 2009 recipient of the Coaches Award
2/3/2010 3:49:22 PM
HAMILTON, N.Y. (2/3/2010) – Kaleigh Durket (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) was among five student-athletes honored as Colgate announced its end of year 2009 volleyball awards.
In addition to Durket, Maureen Colligan (Odessa, Fla.), Shannon Pearson (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), Logan Keala (Kaneohe, Hawaii), and Alexis Griffith (Cleveland, Ohio) also took home recognitions, which were voted on by the team and coaching staff.
Durket, a second team all-Patriot League honoree, was named as the squad’s Offensive Player of the Year. As a freshman, she led the team with 322 kills and 31 aces. Durket, who was tabbed as the league’s player and rookie of the week once, has 17 matches of 10 or more kills, including posting 20 in a five-set match at Harvard. She ranked fifth in the league in kills per game (3.06) and seventh in aces per game (0.31).
Keala was named the Raiders’ Defensive Player of the Year. The 5-10 outside hitter was lauded by head coach Ryan Baker for her back row play, specifically her passing. The junior finished with 229 kills, 29 aces, 266 digs and 27 blocks. She finished second on the squad in both digs and aces. Keala posted a career-high 16 digs and five blocks at Navy on October 2, 2009.
Colligan, a 5-11 outside hitter, was the recipient of the Coaches Award. The sophomore played in all 28 matches and posted 231 kills, 93 digs and 49 blocks on the year. Colligan registered her first collegiate double double with a 16-kill, 12-dig effort and tied a career-high with six blocks versus Siena on September 12.
Pearson, a 5-11 middle blocker, was chosen by her teammates as the squad’s Most Improved Player. While the freshman only played in 12 matches in 2009, she displayed tremendous improvement from fall drills to the end of season. Pearson was thrust into the starting lineup on October 28 and responded with seven kills and seven blocks as Colgate rallied from two games down to defeat eventual America East champion Binghamton in five sets.
Griffith saw action in five matches before suffering a season ending torn ACL. The sophomore was named the Most Inspirational by her teammates. Griffith could be seen on the sidelines cheering on her squad and when healthy was one of the first and last players off the court – working to strengthen her skills and overall game.