VOLLEYBALL GAME CENTRAL

HAMILTON, N.Y. (10/7/11) – After a hard fought match against Syracuse with a lot of positives, the Colgate women's volleyball team are back in league play on Saturday as the Raiders host Bucknell at 4 p.m. at Cotterell Court.

The matchup is the lone one of the weekend for the Raiders. Colgate comes into the match with a 6-11 overall record and a 3-1 mark in league play. Fans can view all necessary links for live video and live stats at the Volleyball Game Central page.

DIG PINK A MAJOR SUCCESS
The Raiders held their Dig Pink weekend last week and the team's goal was to raise $5,000 towards breast cancer awareness and research. The team exceeded its goal by raising over $7,500 through bake sales, jersey auctions and a party held at DU fraternity on campus. Colgate volleyball would like to thank all who donated money towards the cause and everyone who helped out during the weekend and at the events that happened prior to the events of Friday and Saturday.

TEAM SHOWS FIGHT AGAINST SYRACUSE
Even though the Raiders lost 3-0 to the Orange, the score did not reflect how the Raiders played as they had a chance to win every set. Each one was decided at 26-24 and Colgate served for the match in the first two sets and had a chance in the third as the team's were tied at 24-24. The team got great effort from Lindsay Young and Kaylee Dougherty as the pair had 16 and 13 kills, respectively. Kaylee Fifer finished with 27 assists, while Caitlin Cremin posted 22 digs.

DOUGHERTY EMERGING AS A BIG THREAT
Even though she has been an all-league selection in the past, Dougherty has really stepped in with the absence of Maureen Colligan and Michelle McCarthy. The senior has posted five double-digit kill performances and currently has a .220 hitting percentage, which is among the leaders on the team. She hit an amazing .524 percent against Syracuse with just two errors on 21 attacks. That was a season-high for her and it was the third time she hit over 40 percent. Dougherty also just jumped into the top-10 in blocks per set in the league at 0.66 and has 39 total blocks for ninth in the conference.

YOUNG STAYS CONSISTENT
The sophomore outside hitter has been among the league leaders in most offensive categories all season long. She is third in the league in kills per set at 3.55 and is fourth in total kills with 207. She has nearly doubled her output from her rookie season when she had 110. Young has posted double-digit kills in all but three matches this season and has done it in the last 11 matches in a row. She has six double-doubles in kills and digs this year.

PATRIOT LEAGUE UPDATE
American is at the top of the standings at 4-0 after a come-from-behind win at Army last weekend. The Eagles were down 2-1 in the match and finished off the Black Knights by winning the last two sets. Army rebounded with a win over Navy on Saturday to keep pace with the Raiders for second place at 3-1. Lehigh, Holy Cross and Bucknell earned splits last weekend in addition to Army. The Mountain Hawks own the early advantage on the Crusaders for fourth place thanks to victory in the teams' first meeting. Lafayette sits at the bottom as the only team without a league victory.

SCOUTING THE BISON
Bucknell is not off to its usual start and sits at 1-3 in conference play and 4-9 overall. The Bison is coming off a split weekend against Lafayette and Lehigh as the team defeated the Leopards in a sweep and then lost 3-0 to Lehigh on the following night. The league season started out rough with losses to American and Navy.

Jessica Serrato leads the way for the Bison with 139 kills on 410 attacks. She is averaging 2.78 kills per set and has 17 total blocks with 16 coming assisted. Morgan Mientus has 97 kills and has had an impact as a server with 11 aces and she has 71 digs as well. The setter for Bucknell is Kat Tauscher and she has 426 assists on the year and leads the team with 13 aces. Leylin Marroquin is the leader on the backline with 128 digs, while Morgan Markarian has 102.

SERIES HISTORY
Colgate and Bucknell will be meeting for the 50th time since the series began back in 1984. The Raiders hold a 27-22 advantage and have won four of the last five matches and two of those have been sweeps. Last year the two teams split the season series with each team winning on their home court.