VOLLEYBALL GAME CENTRAL

HAMILTON, N.Y. (10/13/11) – The Colgate volleyball team will look to extend its winning steak in league play with Holy Cross and Army coming to campus on Friday and Saturday.

Colgate comes into the weekend with an 8-11 overall record and a 4-1 mark in conference play. Holy Cross marches into Hamilton with a 6-15 overall mark and a 2-3 record in league competition. The Black Knights have a 13-6 record and is tied with the Raiders at 4-1 in the Patriot League.

RAIDERS NOT FAZED BY EARLY DEFICIT AGAINST CORNELL
Colgate dropped the first set of the match against Cornell, but rebounded to take the final three for a 3-1 win over the Big Red on Tuesday night. The Raiders got stellar performances by Lindsay Young and Kaylee Dougherty. Young had 17 kills, while Dougherty was key all night for the Raiders with 15 kills, seven digs, four blocks and three aces. Kenzie Hume recorded 10 kills, while Blaire Safir turned in a career-high 18 digs. Kaylee Fifer posted a career-high 52 assists and also had 15 digs. Lexi Finger chipped in with 13 digs of her own in the win.

ROOKIE IMPACT ON THE FRONT LINE
Diane Seely, Mari Faines and Kenzie Hume have been major contributors to the squad this season. Seely is third on the team in kills with 130 and has reached double-digit kills in three matches, including 11 against Bucknell on Oct. 8. Faines has been more of a defensive threat with 19 total blocks and has eight solos to lead the team. She had three solos and assisted blocks against Lehigh on Sept. 30. Kenzie Hume has been an all-around player for Colgate with 102 kills and a team-high 42 total blocks. She has five solos and 37 assisted and she is averaging 0.70 per set.

DOUGHERTY HITTING WELL
Dougherty has been a major part of Colgate's success in the last four games. She is hitting over 42 percent with 44 kills on 82 attacks and just nine errors. Only Young has more kills over the same period. Dougherty hit a career-high 52.4 percentage against Syracuse with 13 kills and then this past Tuesday, she tied a season-high with 15 kills in a 3-1 win over Cornell and hit 44 percent.

PATRIOT LEAGUE UPDATE
American is still at the top of the Patriot League standings with an undefeated 5-0 record after sweeping Navy during travel-partner weekend. Army and Colgate kept pace with the Eagles as the Black Knights swept Holy Cross and the Raiders beat Bucknell, 3-1. Saturday's match against Army is a big one midway through the year with the winner possibly tying American at the top. Army and Colgate are at 4-1, while Lehigh sits fourth at 3-2. The Crusaders are 2-3 in fifth and Navy and Bucknell at 1-4, tied for sixth. Lafayette remains winless in league at 0-5 for last place.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS
Holy Cross enters Friday's matchup after going 0-2 last week with losses to Bryant (3-2) and Army (3-0). The Crusaders have lost three in a row and have won just two matches in the their last 12. They are still alive in the hunt for the Patriot League Tournament as they sit fifth at 2-3. The two wins by Holy Cross have come against Lafayette and Navy.

Megan Lynch leads the team and the league with 287 kills this year and had 52 last week in the two losses. She is averaging over four kills per set, but is not in the top-10 in hitting percentage. She has a total of 924 attacks already this year. Kathleen Colpoys is over 100 kills behind Lynch at 156 for second on the team. Hannah Grace Stokes is the primary setter and she has 542 assists, while Elizabeth Watters is the leader on the backline with 285 digs.

SERIES HISTORY
The Raiders have dominated the series with a 38-4 record in 42 matches played since 1983. Colgate has won the last 12 matches between these two schools as the Crusaders have not beat the Raiders since 2004 and four of the last six matches have been 3-0 wins for Colgate.

SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Army comes to campus in a tie with Colgate for second place in the league at 4-1. The Black Knights swept Holy Cross last weekend to keep pace with Colgate and they have split their last four matches, including 3-2 loss to American after being up 2-1 in the match. Overall, Army has a 13-6 record and won all six matches it played at home during the tournament season.

Ariana Mankus leads the team with 254 kills and is second behind Lynch in the Patriot League. She has 746 total attacks and 97 errors and a .210 hitting percentage. She is averaging 3.63 kills per set. Army has three others with over 100 kills. Mary Vaccaro has been setting them all up as she has 847 assists for tops in the league and averages over 11 per set. D.J. Phee is the leader on the backline with 316 digs, while Mankus has added 274.

SERIES HISTORY
Colgate and Army will be facing each other for the 55th time with the Black Knights holding a 30-24 advantage in the series. The Raiders won 2-of-3 matches last year, including a 3-1 win in the Patriot League Semifinals. Army holds a 3-2 advantage in the last five matches.