VOLLEYBALL GAME CENTRAL

HAMILTON N.Y. (9/1/11) - The Colgate women’s volleyball team will be on the road for the first time this season for the Yale Invitational, beginning on Friday evening.

The schedule features a 5 p.m. start on Friday for the Raiders against the new Pac-12 member Utah. On Saturday, Colgate takes on the host Bulldogs at 11 a.m., followed by the final match against Boston College at 5 p.m. at Lee Amphitheater. Live stats will only be available for the match against Yale. All necessary links for fans are all available at Volleyball Game Central.

RAIDERS SPLIT FINAL DAY OF COLGATE CLASSIC
After dropping the early game against Seton Hall, the Colgate women's volleyball team rebounded with a four-set win over Buffalo by the score of 3-1 on the final day of the Colgate Classic. The Raiders fell in their first two matches of the Classic. Against the Bulls, Lindsay Young continued to be a presence at the net with 13 kills, along with nine digs and two blocks. Rookie Kenzie Hume and senior Kaylee Dougherty each played a solid match with six kills apiece. Kaylee Fifer finished with 14 assists and Blaire Safir had 13.

YOUNG STEPS INTO NEW ROLE
With the graduation of Casey Ritt, Young has to be counted on a lot more this season and so far she has delivered. She had 39 kills in the three matches and 35 digs, along with a .148 hitting percentage. Last season, she had 110 kills in 58 sets, had 52 digs and 43 total blocks.

SEELY LEADS ROOKIES IN FIRST TOURNAMENT
Diane Seely had a successful first tournament this past weekend with 20 kills overall and 10 in her first collegiate match against Buffalo. She also added two service aces and nine total blocks in the three matches and played all 13 sets. Rookies Kenzie Hume, Mari Faines and Hannah Donnelly each made an impact during the two-day tournament as well. All the first years combined for 29 kills, five digs and 17 blocks.

FIFER SHIFTS SUCCESS TO HER SECOND SEASON
Fifer finished the first weekend with 15 kills, 77 assists, 36 digs and four total blocks. The 15 kills is just about halfway of her total a season ago, which was 38, and she posted only her second career four-block game against Buffalo on Saturday evening. Fifer posted two double-digit dig matches with 16 against Buffalo on Friday and 15 versus Seton Hall. She had 13 blocks all of last season.

BACKLINE RISES UP IN WIN
Allie Dyer, Lexi Finger and Caitlin Cremin played excellent on the backline as each scored double-digit digs with Dyer leading the way with 15. Cremin was playing her first tournament as the libero, while Finger and Dyer are expected to carry the load on the backline throughout the season.

SCOUTING THE UTES
Utah makes the long trip east after a 2-1 weekend at its own home invitational. The Utes dropped their first match of the season to Northwestern by a 3-0 score, but they rebounded with 3-0 wins over Cal State Northridge and Weber State. Last season, Utah went 17-14 and finished third in the Mountain West Conference with a record of 11-5.

The Utes are led by Morgan Odale, who posted 27 kills last weekend with four blocks, while Chelsey Schofield recorded 26 kills, 22 digs and 12 total blocks. Erin Redd had 24 kills, three service aces and a team-high 17 blocks. McKenzie Odale was setting up the hitters all weekend and finished with 82 assists and 22 digs.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first meeting between these two schools.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
This is Yale's first weekend of competition after an 18-8 season a year ago and a 12-2 mark in Ivy League play. The Bulldogs shared the league title with Penn at 12-2 and finished the year with a 10-1 record in its last 11 matches, losing to Penn in the final match of the season.

The Bulldogs return four All-Ivy selections from a year ago, including Kendall Polan, who was the league’s top rookie. The setter averaged almost 10 assists per set and had 3.5 digs per set and added 15 service aces. Senior Bridget Hearst is back after her postseason honors and she posted 330 kills last season. Sophomore Erica Reetz jumps into her second year after a 277-kill season along with 35 blocks.

SERIES HISTORY
This weekend will be the 10th meeting in the series history that began back in 1979. Yale holds the 6-3 advantage and the Bulldogs have won the last two matches. The last meeting was at the Yale Invite in 2008 and the Bulldogs beat the Raiders 3-0.

SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
The Eagles started the season last weekend with a visit to the University of Florida and played Florida and Auburn, falling in both matches by 3-0 scores. Boston College was 9-24 last year with a 1-19 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Eagles are strong up front with senior Tsvetelina Dureva and junior Val Mattaliano. The two combined for 23 of the team’s 38 kills last weekend, while Dureva added 13 digs. Sophomore Sen Cagla is back for her second year as the primary setter and had 29 helpers last weekend, while senior libero Brennan Clark recorded a team-high 15 digs.

SERIES HISTORY
Boston College and Colgate will be facing off for the 18th time since the first meeting back in 1981. The Raiders lead the series with a 10-7 advantage and have not been victorious in the last six meetings. The last Colgate win was back in 1994 at the Army Tournament at West Point.