Colgate Volleyball Rallies For Five Set Victory Over Binghamton

Casey Ritt tallied 10 blocks as Colgate rallied to down Binghamton in five sets.

HAMILTON, N.Y. (10/28/09) – Behind a team-high 17 kills from Kaleigh Durket (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) and one of the best blocking performances in years, the Colgate volleyball team rallied from down two sets to defeat visiting Binghamton 21-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-23, 15-11 in a non conference match, Wednesday evening at Cotterell Court.

Colgate, which evened its record at 11-11, tallied 17 team blocks on the evening on one block solo and 32 block assists against the Bearcats.

“I told the team during the break that if we played better defense, we would win this match,” said Colgate head coach Ryan Baker. “Our serve game set up our block. We hit our spots well all night. That is something we focused on as a team all week. We also increased our dig total by 10 to 12 percent the final three games and that played a major factor in the match.”

Joining Durket with double figured kill totals were Casey Ritt (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Maureen Colligan (Odessa, Fla.), and Logan Keala (Kaneohe, Hawaii). All three had 11 kills in the victory as Colgate hit the .500 mark for the first time since September 4 of this season. The Raiders have won two in a row and seven of their last nine.

“”Everyone stepped up tonight and played well,” said Baker. “Kelsea {Loveless} had a great match on the serve and passing wise and Shannon {Pearson} did very well for her first collegiate start.”

Pearson, a freshman from Thousand Oaks, Calif., tallied a season-best seven kills and seven blocks. Ritt set a new personal best with 10 block assists, besting her former mark of eight set against arch-rival Cornell back on September 18 in Ithaca. Blaire Safir (Oakland, Calif.) also was a blocking force at the net with a career high seven blocks, while Durket chipped in five block assists as well.

In the opening set, Colgate came out sluggish as the Bearcats stormed out to a commanding 7-1 lead. The Raiders erased that lead and pulled to within 10-9 on a kill by Pearson. However, Binghamton answered and scored six of the next eight points to reclaim what appeared to be a commanding 16-11 lead. Colgate didn't quit and eventually tied the set at 17-17 on a kill by Ritt. After three more ties, the last being at 21-21, Binghamton closed out the set with four consecutive points.

After dropping the second set, Colgate took command of the third before the midway point of the set. Up 11-10, the lead increased gradually the rest of the game. Leading 23-16, Pearson gave the Raiders game point with a kill before ending the set with a block solo.

Game four saw nine ties, the last coming at 11-11. Nip and tuck all the way to 20, Colgate gained a four-point lead at 23-19 on a kill by Ritt and two more points off the junior's serve. After Binghamton closed to 24-23, Durket forced a fifth and deciding set with a kill.

With the set all square at 5-5, Loveless came up big. The senior connected for her lone kill of the evening from the back row and then followed with three consecutive points off her serve to give the Raiders a 9-5 advantage. Down 11-6, the Bearcats rallied and pulled within 11-9. Durket gave the Raiders match point with her 17th kill of the evening. Binghamton's final attack attempt went long giving the Raiders the victory.

Colgate hit .279 on the evening with 62 kills on 140 swings (23 errors), while the Bearcats hit .237 (66-28-160). The Raiders held a 54-44 digs advantage over Binghamton as Devon Applegate (Davidson, N.C.) and Keala tallied 15 and 14 respectively.

Meghan Fanta (Hillsboro, Wisc.) and Safir once again split time directing the offense. Fanta finished with 26 assists and now needs 21 more helpers to move into seventh on the all-time Patriot League charts. Safir handed out 23 helpers.

Binghamton, which fell to 11-12 overall, was led by the duo of Michelle McDonough and Anna Lejina, which had 23 and 19 kills respectively. Setter Lindsey Mueller tallied 54 assists in the loss.

Colgate returns to action Friday evening as it starts the final stretch of its season at Bucknell. With five more regular-season matches remaining and the next three away from home, the Raiders will look to hold onto second place in the league standings.

Final Stats

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