HAMILTON, N.Y. (10/12/07)—Colgate University junior Katrina Zawojski (Palo Alto, Calif.) registered a match-high 25 kills and picked up 17 digs to lead the Raiders to a crucial 3-1 victory over Patriot League foe Army in volleyball action this evening on Cotterell Court. This was Colgate’s first win over the Black Knights since a 3-1 victory in the Patriot League Tournament in 2000.

 

The Raiders improve to 10-9 overall and 5-1 in Patriot League play. The win gave Colgate sole possession of second place in the conference standings. Army drops to 16-4 overall and 4-2 in the league.

 

Freshman Casey Ritt (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added 11 kills, while sophomore Kelsea Loveless (Lubbock, Texas) had 10. Sophomore Meghan Fanta (Hillsboro, Wis.) handed out 56 assists for the Raiders and added two kills to her effort. Defensively, Colgate was outstanding in the match. Junior Jackie Adlam (Mill Valley, Calif.) led the back row defense with a match-high 20 digs. Senior Erin Kanetzke (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the blocking corps with six block assists, while Ritt and junior Merryl Pohl (Seattle, Wash.) both had four apiece. Colgate finished with 10 total team blocks, its second highest total this season.

 

Zawojski’s 25 kills ranks third all-time in a four-game match at Colgate. As a team, Colgate finished with 65 kills, which ranks fifth all-time in Colgate history and hit .250 for the match, which also falls on the top-10 single match list.

 

Army got double-digit kills from four different players, with Briana Stremick leading the way with 17. Jamie Clark and Rachael Breinling both posted 14 apiece, while Elizabeth Lazzari had 13. Maureen Bannon registered 61 assists for the match and picked up 10 digs for the double-double. Lazzari also led the Black Knights defensively with a team-high 13 digs. Lauren Teal was the top front row defensive player with six block assists. As a team, Army finished with 67 kills, a .225 hitting percentage, and just 50 digs to Colgate’s 73.

 

The first game was all Colgate as the Raiders used a 17-6 run for a 21-10 lead. The Raiders continued to stifle Army as it cruised to the 30-22 victory. The Raiders hit .282 in the first game.

 

The second game was an extremely tight affair, featuring nine ties and two lead changes. Army jumped out to a 6-2 lead before Colgate slowly came back to tie it at 9-9. From that point on, it was nearly neck-and-neck down the stretch. The Black Knights looked like they were going to start to pull away with a 6-1 run for a 20-15 lead, but the Raiders clawed their way back to tie the game at 23-23. The teams continued to trade points as the score was tied five more times. All even at 29 apiece, Breinling knocked down a kill to set up game point. The next play, Bannon stepped up to get the solo block to tie the match at 1-1.

 

Colgate came out firing in the third game, jumped out to a 10-2 lead. The Raiders never looked back as they never trailed or were tied in the game. The Black Knights slowly cut into the lead, but could never recover. The Raiders continued its strong defense and high-powered offense to go up 2-1 in the match with a 30-24 victory.

 

The fourth and what proved to be final fourth game was very similar the third. Colgate was able to give itself a five-point cushion, 13-8, before the Black Knights came back to make it a close game down the stretch. With the Raiders up 24-20, Army went on a 5-2 run to make it a one-point contest at 26-25. Colgate went ahead by two again, but the Black Knights always seemed to find a way to make it a point game again. Breinling was able to save Army from match point with a kill, but it was Pohl answering right away with a kill of her own to close out the match.

 

Colgate continues its Patriot League weekend on Oct. 13, hosting Holy Cross at 4 p.m., on Cotterell Court. Live statistics are available on the Colgate Athletics Web site for the match.