Sept. 4, 2007

Army and Lafayette each took home their first Patriot League Volleyball Weekly Awards of the season in the second week of competition. Army's Jamie Clark was tabbed the Patriot League/Baden Player of the Week, while Lafayette's Kayly Elmer was named the Patriot League/Baden Rookie of the Week.

Patriot League Volleyball Release - 9.4.07
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Baden Player of the Week
Jamie Clark, Army Jr., OH, Pueblo, Colo.
Clark averaged 3.17 kills per game, hit .358 and totaled six aces and 15 blocks in a 4-0 week for the Black Knights. The junior outside hitter came up with a season-high 14 kills and a .440 attack percentage in a 3-0 win over Rutgers. In game one versus the Scarlet Knights she recorded four kills in five points to put the Black Knights ahead for good, 26-18. In a 3-1 victory over NJIT she posted eight blocks - double that of any other player.

Baden Rookie of the Week
Kayly Elmer, Lafayette Fr., OH, Wilmette, Ill.
Elmer recorded a kills-digs double-double in each of Lafayette's four matches at the La Salle Tournament. The freshman outside hitter earned All-Tournament Team honors after averaging a team-high 3.90 kills per game and 5.10 digs per game. In her first four collegiate matches she hit .232 and recorded five aces and three blocks.

Honorable Mention

Jenna Henderson, Bucknell
Sr., OH, Elk Grove, Calif.
Averaged 5.18 kills per game...Had the deciding kill in each game in a 3-0 win over UNC Greensboro.

Christine Strawson, Holy Cross
Sr., OH, Torrington, Conn.
Posted two double-doubles...Totaled 54 kills and 46 digs.

Chelsey O'Donnell, Holy Cross
Fr., S, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Recorded 116 assists over four matches...Had one dig-assist double-double.

Michaela Donohue, Lafayette
Sr., OH, Los Gatos, Calif.
Averaged 4.13 digs per game...Recorded two kill-digs double-doubles.

Patriot League Notebook

American Packs `Em In
On Aug. 25 American set the mark for the largest crowd to ever attend a women's collegiate volleyball match in the District of Columbia with 1,516 fans. The match resulted in a 3-2 win for American over George Washington as part of the D.C Challenge.

The match was billed as American volleyball's inaugural "Bender Blue Out" and was part of American's "Welcome Week" for returning students. Giveaways, prizes and t-shirts were offered to members of American's student spirit group, the "Blue Crew."

Starting Off On The Right Foot
Army remains the only unbeaten team in the Patriot League this season at 6-0 under first-year Head Coach Alma Kovaci. The Black Knights went 7-0 to start last season and will have the chance to match that mark tonight against Marist at home.

Opalski 500
Bucknell Head Coach Cindy Opalski coached in her 500th match at the helm of the Bison last Saturday at Duquesne. Overall for her career, Opalski is currently at 349 wins.

Quotable
"I was so nervous about my first service academy game that I barely slept last night. This is a great win for us and a great win for the Patriot League over a higher-ranked Mountain West team." - Army first-year Head Coach Alma Kovaci after a 3-0 win over Air Force.

2007 Patriot League Tournament
The 2007 Patriot League Tournament will take place Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16 and 17 at the site of the highest seed. The top-four teams as determined by the regular-season standings will participate in the Patriot League tourney.

Team Notebooks

American American faced two nationally ranked teams at the BYU Molton Classic, including No. 15 Brigham Young and No. 10 Wisconsin. The Eagles fell to both ranked opponents and Northern Iowa over the weekend. Junior Rubena Sukaj recorded 40 kills and 17 digs over three matches. Setter duties were split between Christina Nash and Tara Stradling, who had 50 and 38 assists respectively.

Army The Black Knights went 3-0 at their home Army Open this weekend, beating service academy rival Air Force, Quinnipiac and Rutgers all by match scores of 3-0. The Cadets posted a 3-1 win over NJIT earlier in the week. Army is off to a Patriot League-best 6-0 season under first-year Head Coach Alma Kovaci. Junior Jamie Clark hit .358 for the week and averaged 3.17 kills per game. The Black Knights amassed a season-high 16 service aces against Air Force with a career-high nine coming from junior Briana Stremick.

Bucknell Senior Jenna Henderson represented Bucknell on the Courtyard by Marriott Invitational All-Tournament Team as the Bison went 2-1 in competition. Bucknell earned wins over Robert Morris and UNC Greensboro and dropped a contest to Duquesne. Junior Emilie Hardinge has a career-high five aces at Duquesne, while sophomore Jennifer Rupp posted a career best with 22 digs in the same match. Henderson matched her career high in kills (23) versus the Dukes.

Colgate Junior Jackie Adlam was selected to the USF Asics/PowerAde Challenge All-Tournament Team after totaling 44 digs over three matches. The Raiders fell in all three matches to host San Francisco, Eastern Washington and Oral Roberts. Freshman Casey Ritt recorded a career-high 11 kills and a career-best .409 hitting percentage against Eastern Washington.

Holy Cross Holy Cross played in the Boston College/Northeastern Challenge last weekend. The Crusaders ended the tourney with a 3-0 win over Sacred Heart, after falling to Boston College, Northeastern and New Hampshire. Senior Christine Strawson led Holy Cross in kills, reaching double-digits in all four matches. Strawson also recorded her second and third double-doubles of the season. Freshman Chelsey O'Donnell came up with her first collegiate double-double (35 assists, 10 digs) against Northeastern.

Lafayette Lafayette kicked off the season on Friday with two wins in the La Salle Tournament. The Leopards ended the week with a 2-2 record. Senior Michaela Donohue posted two double-doubles with 15 kills and 23 digs in a win over St. Peter's and 10 kills and 20 digs against the host Explorers. Freshman Kayly Elmer earned a spot on the La Salle All-Tournament Team with 58 kills and 77 digs over her first four collegiate matches.

Lehigh With a come from behind 3-2 victory over Howard on Saturday, Lehigh snapped its 36-match losing streak. It was the first victory for the Mountain Hawks since November 2, 2005 when they defeated Loyola, 3-1. Later in the day the Brown and White dropped a 3-1 contest to George Mason in the Patriot Invite. Freshman Brittany Dickinson and sophomore Brittany Thurston were named to the Patriot Invite All-Tournament Team. Dickinson recorded 35 assists and 17 digs. Thurston came up with a double-double against Howard (13 kills, 12 digs) and hit .385.

Navy Navy opened up its home slate on Tuesday with a 3-0 win over Coppin State to improve to 12-1 in its last 13 home season openers. The Mids recorded their third-straight sweep on Monday with a 3-0 victory at Wagner. Senior Rachel Dougherty led Navy with 13 kills and a .462 attack percentage against Wagner and had a career-high five aces versus Coppin State in just two games. Abbie Merkl's 12 digs against Wagner was a career-high.