VOLLEYBALL GAME CENTRAL
HAMILTON, NY (9/2/10) – The Colgate women’s volleyball team will look to build on its first weekend as the Raiders participate in the Hampton Inn Classic this Friday and Saturday.
The tournament kicks off for Colgate on Friday at 4:30 p.m. with a single match against Virginia Commonwealth with the team having two games the following day. The second day starts with three-time defending national champion Penn State at 10 a.m. on Saturday and the day wraps up for the Raiders with a match against Seton Hall at 4 p.m.
OFF AND RUNNING
The Raiders started their season off with a pair of wins at the Colgate Classic last weekend and finished the tournament with an overall mark of 2-1. They took down both Rhode Island and Fairfield in their first two matches. Colgate then fell to Syracuse in the final game of the Classic on Saturday night.
ROOKIE IMPACT
The newcomers made a splash during the first weekend of the season. They were a major reason the Raiders came out on top with a 3-2 win over Rhode Island in its first match of the season. With score 8-7 in favor of the Rams, head coach Ryan Baker inserted
Kaylee Fifer (Lantana, Texas),
Allie Dyer (Portland, Ore.) and
Caitlin Cremin (Naperville, Ill.). The trio helped build a 13-8 lead down the stretch. Colgate gave away one point during the run, but sealed the deal on a missed block from the Rams. Fifer had a great tournament with 53 assists, nine kills and nine digs, earning her an honorable mention weekly award from the Patriot League.
ON THE FRONT LINE
Junior
Maureen Colligan (Odessa, Fla.) led the Raiders with 38 kills in the three matches, while sophomore
Kaylee Dougherty (Landisville, Pa.) wasn’t far behind with 37 on the weekend. The two also paired up for a total of 19 blocks. Senior captain
Casey Ritt (Colorado Springs, Colo.) also had a good weekend with 26 kills, nine digs and a team-high 12 blocks with four coming solo. Colligan earned All-Tournament Team honors for her effort.
DIGGING IT
Senior captain
Devon Applegate (Davidson, N.C.) and freshman
Caitlin Cremin (Naperville, Ill.) were the leaders in the backcourt for the Raiders. Applegate finished the tournament with 35 digs, averaging around three per set, and a team-high four service aces to earn All-Tournament Team honors. Cremin had 23 digs and a service ace in the 2-1 weekend. Senior captain
Logan Keala (Kaneohe, Hawaii) had 17 digs of her own and also finished with 23 kills.
SCOUTING VCU
The Rams enter the Classic with a 0-4 record with losses to Ohio, Ohio State, Dayton and Arizona State. Virginia Commonwealth played well against the Sun Devils, taking the Pac-10 school to a fifth set, before falling 15-9 in the final game. The Rams struggled in its other three contest, being swept twice and only earning one set win at Ohio State.
The Rams are led by Mariel Frey, who has 40 kills, and she is second on the team with 26 digs. Frey averages 2.67 kills per set, which is tops on the team. Kristin Boyd has done her part on the offensive side with 30 kills, while Courtney Hott has a team-high 11 blocks at the front of the net. Marisa Low comes into the Classic with a team-best 44 digs and Ciara Brown is the leader in assists with an incredible 104 on the year.
SCOUTING TOP-RANKED PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions enter their own tournament with a 3-0 record with wins over Campbell, Villanova and North Carolina. Penn State is on a record-setting streak of 105-straight wins and has yet to drop a set this season. The top-ranked team in the nation is also the three-time defending national champion.
The Nittany Lions have three players with 20-plus kills with 2009 All-American Blair Brown leading the way with 36 kills. Deja McClendon is second with 29, while Arielle Wilson is third with 23 on the year. The trio has also combined for just 13 errors in their three matches. Kristen Carpenter is the team’s primary setter with 73 assists, while D’Errico Alyssa is a dig specialist with 53 so far in 2010.
SCOUTING SETON HALL
The Pirates enter this weekend with a 1-2 mark on the year after traveling to William & Mary for its opening weekend. Seton Hall was topped by Winthrop and Wisconsin in the last two matches of the tournament, while coming home with a victory over the Tribe in the first match.
Sarah Osmun leads the team with an incredible 52 kills and 148 total attacks in just three matches. She also has registered 30 digs on the year. Hannah Hugeback is second on the team with 37 kills and has 29 digs. Overall, the Pirates have four players with 20-plus kills this season. Olivia Trudeau has been the primary setter for Seton Hall with 101 assists.