Volleyball Game Central
HAMILTON, NY (8/26/10) – The Colgate Classic brings three volleyball squads to Cotterell Court this Friday as the Raiders open up their 2010 season tomorrow afternoon.
Colgate will be welcoming Fairfield, Rhode Island and Syracuse to this year’s Classic. The First game is slated for 12:30 p.m. with Rhode Island taking on Fairfield. The Raiders will take the court at 4 p.m. to face the Rams, while Syracuse starts its campaign with a 7 p.m. start against the Stags.
Colgate All-Access will be available for all Raider fans tomorrow for the 4 p.m. game and also the matchup against Syracuse on Saturday evening. Fans can access the video streaming by clicking on the volleyball game central link above, then clicking All-Access.
The Raiders were picked to finish third in the Patriot League in the Preseason Poll. They were picked behind defending champion Army and conference runner-up American in the poll. The Raiders return six starters for a year ago and have only lost three letterwinners. Seniors
Devon Applegate (Davidson, N.C.),
Logan Keala (Kanehoe, Hawaii) and
Casey Ritt (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will lead the team as captains.
SCOUTING FAIRFIELD
The Stags were picked second in the MAAC Preseason Poll with 92 points behind defending MAAC Champion Niagara University, which garnered 93 points. Fairfield went 19-12 overall last season and 16-2 in the MAAC en route to its sixth consecutive MAAC Regular Season Championship. The top-seeded Stags were upset in the semifinals of the MAAC Championship, falling to Marist College, 3-2. Fairfield returns all but two members of its squad from last season, including MAAC Rookie of the Year Brianna Dixion and All-MAAC selection Lauren Balmert.
SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND
The Rams were picked to finish eighth in the 2010 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Preseason Poll. Last season, the Rams posted an 11-17 overall record and finished eighth in A-10 play. This season Rhody returns five starters in the form of Lauren McIntosh, Kayla Newberg, Kalyn Klaess, Kayla Wilson and Annie Nelson.Newberg led the team with 253 kills, while Nelson was the primary setter with 576 assists. Candice Kolkka returns after a shortened season last year in which she finished with 425 assists in 20 matches played.
SCOUTING SYRACUSE
The Orange was selected to finish eighth in the BIG EAST preseason poll with 94 points in the 15-team league. Syracuse finished last season with a 20-11 record and ended up fifth in the BIG EAST with a 9-5 mark. The Orange lost three starters and return four in Hayley Todd, Noemie Lefebvre, Erin Little and Samantha Hinz. Overall, Syracuse is bringing back eight athletes from 2009. Todd comes back after 247 kills and averaging over two kills per set, while Lefebvre was second with 161 kills. Laura Homann will be back as the top setter with 1,174 assists last season and averaged 10 per set.
CLASSIC SCHEDULE
On Saturday, the schedule features three games and starts at noon as Colgate faces Fairfield, followed by a 3 p.m. matchup between Rhode Island and the Orange. The final match of the tournament is at 6 p.m. with the Raiders playing host to Syracuse.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE FOR THE RAIDERS
The Raiders will hit the road for the next two weekends as Colgate plays in a pair of invitationals in the region. First up is the Penn State Invitational next weekend. The Raiders will be taking the court against the defending national champion Nittany Lions on Sept. 4, sandwiched between matches with VCU and Seton Hall. On the weekend of Sept. 10, they will be headed to Niagara and Canisius for their invitational. Other than playing the hosts, the Raiders will face Robert Morris and Indiana. Just a reminder to all Raider fans, you can get all your upcoming game information at the new Volleyball Game Central by logging onto www.GoColgateRaiders.com.