Sept. 8, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. -- Army's Ariana Mankus wins her second straight Rookie of the Week award after posting 56 kills last week. She leads the League with 89. Lafayette's Alana Taylor won Player of the Week, helping the Leopards to a 3-1 start.

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Player of the Week (8.31.09-9.6.09)

Alana Taylor, Lafayette So., M, Portland, Ore./ST. Mary's Academy Taylor lifted the Leopards to a 3-1 record last week, recording 42 kills (3.00) per set. She made just 10 errors in 83 attempts for a team-best .386 attack percentage. She also had eight blocks, including five in Lafayette's season-opening win over St. Francis (N.Y.). She had seven kills and no errors in that 3-0 Leopard win. She added another 16 kills (.481 attack percentage) in a 3-1 win over Delaware State.

Rookie of the Week (8.31.09-9.6.09)

Ariana Mankus, Army Fr., OH, Lisle, Ill./Benet Academy Mankus won her second straight Patriot League Rookie of the Week award with another great offensive performance for the Black Knights. The freshman recorded 56 kills in 15 sets (3.73 average) as Army went 3-1 and improved to 5-2 on the season. Mankus also had 40 digs and four blocks. She posted a career-high 20 kills in a 3-1 win over Rutgers and another 16 kills and 16 digs in a 3-1 setback against Delaware. For her efforts at the Delaware Invitational, she was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Kaitlin Segal, Bucknell Jr., OH, Pacific Palisades, Calif./Harvard-Westlake Segal recorded 38 kills (3.50 per set) and 16 digs over three matches for Bucknell last week.

Rachel Willis, Army So., MB, Branford, Conn./Branford (USMAPS) Willis fueled Army's 3-1 week with 33 kills (2.06 per set) and 18 blocks. She had a career-high eight blocks in a 3-2 win over Manhattan.

Kaleigh Durket, Colgate Fr., RS, El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge Durket led the Raiders last week with 38 kills (3.45 per set) and 29 digs. She also had five blocks, nine assists and an ace. She recorded 20 kills against Harvard and 13 digs against Stony Brook.

Carolyn Ewert, Navy Fr., OH, Bakersfield, Calif./Centennial Ewert led the Midshipmen with 46 kills (3.07 per set), 32 digs and six assists over five matches and 15 sets last week. She also had two blocks and an assist.

Patriot League Notebook

Golden 500 

Barry Goldberg, in his 21st season as the head coach of American, needs just one win to reach 500 for his career. He'll be the first volleyball coach in the Patriot League to reach the milestone. He also will continue to climb the NCAA's all-time list. Entering 2009, he was 24th on the Division I all-time career victories list and 18th with a .727 winning percentage.

Fresh-Mankus

Army freshman Ariana Mankus has settled in quite nicely as the Black Knights' new outside hitter. The West Point newcomer has played a huge roll in leading her squad to a 5-2 start. With her career-high 20 kills in a 3-1 win over Rutgers Friday, she has amassed a League-high 89 kills for the Black Knights. She has just 19 errors in 232 attempts for a .302 attack percentage. She's also averaging a League-best 3.71 kills per set. Additionally, she is second on the team in digs with 63. Mankus has been named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week twice in 2009.

Ready, Set, Assist!

Army and Colgate returned two of the League's top three setters from 2008 in Maureen Bannon and Meghan Fanta. For Army, Bannon has won the Patriot League Setter of the Year award twice (2006 and 2007) and entered the 2009 season with a school-career-record 11.4 assists per set. With her 218 assists in 2009, she has vaulted Fanta and taken over 10th place in League history with 3,351 career assists. She is 17 away from moving into ninth place. Once Bannon does that, Fanta, who has 3,320 assists, will need 48 to move back into the top 10. Fanta's 3,320 assists is a school record at Colgate. She ranked third in the League with 9.28 assists per set last season. Bannon was first with 10.79 per set.

Keep Track of the Patriot League Through Social Media

In addition to visiting www.patriotleague.org, League fans and followers have plenty of new ways to stay updated and involved during the 2009 season and beyond. The Patriot League has accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and has now started a blog to give more information on the action on the field. All three accounts are accessible through the multimedia link at the right-hand sidebar on the front page of www.patriotleague.org.

2009 Patriot League Championship

The 2009 Patriot League Volleyball Championship will take place on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 21 and 22, at the site of the highest seed as determined by regular-season standings with the top four teams qualifying for the tournament. Two semifinal matches will take place on Saturday, Nov. 21, with the No. 1 seed facing the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed facing the No. 3 seed. The championship match will be played on Sunday, Nov. 22, with the winner earning the Patriot League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

2009 Patriot League Preseason Poll

American was selected as the favorite to win its ninth straight Patriot League title, receiving 96 points and 12 first-place votes in the 2009 preseason poll. The Eagles ran away with the No. 1 spot in the poll that is voted on by Patriot League volleyball head coaches and sports information contacts. Colgate edged out Army for No. 2, earning 79 points and three first-place votes, while Army had 78 points and one first-place vote. Bucknell was fourth with 65 points and Navy was fifth with 49. Lehigh (34), Lafayette (31) and Holy Cross (16) round out the preseason poll.

Team Notebooks

American The Eagles went 1-2 last week, picking up a 3-2 win over Portland on Saturday at the Nike Invitational to end a five-match losing streak. American opened up the tournament with a 3-1 loss to Portland on Thursday, followed by a 3-0 loss to New Mexico on Friday. The Eagles will return home to host the American Tournament on Friday and Saturday. American will open up with Yale at 7 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, the Eagles match up against NJIT at 1 p.m. and Virginia Tech at 7 p.m.

Army The Black Knights improved their record to 5-2 with three wins last week. In a non-League match at Manhattan, Army won in five sets, 3-2, on Sept. 1. At the Delaware Tournament, Army won 3-1 over Rutgers on Friday, while losing 3-1 to Delaware and winning 3-0 against Princeton on Saturday. The Black Knights will return to the court with a home match against Marist at 7 p.m. Wednesday. They also will compete in the Pepperdine Tournament on Friday and Saturday. Army will face UC Riverside at 7:30 p.m. Friday, No. 19 Pepperdine at 10 p.m. Saturday and Seattle at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Bucknell The Bison finished 1-2 at the Marist Invitational to even their record at 3-3. Bucknell lost 3-0 to Marist and defeated Bryant 3-1 in the opening day of the invite Saturday. Providence handed Bucknell a 3-1 loss on Sunday. The Bison will return to the court at the Akron Invitational. They'll open with a 5 p.m. match against West Virginia on Friday, followed by a 7:30 match against Akron. On Saturday, Bucknell will meet St. Francis (Pa.) at 2:30 p.m.

Colgate The Raiders dropped three matches at the Harvard Invitational to fall to 1-3 on the season. Colgate lost in five sets, 3-2, to Harvard in the invite's opener on Friday. On Saturday, Colgate fell 3-0 to both Toledo and Stony Brook. The Raiders will be in Brooklyn, N.Y., Friday and Saturday for the Long Island Invitational. Colgate will face Long Island at 7 p.m. Friday. The invite will continue Saturday with matches against Georgia at 10 a.m. and Siena at 5 p.m.

Holy Cross The Crusaders opened their 2009 season with five losses last week. Holy Cross took Providence to five sets in the season opener, but fell 3-2 on its home court Wednesday. The Crusaders lost three consecutive 3-0 matches at the Sacred Heart Invitational. Holy Cross was swept by Sacred Heart on Friday, Iona and Missouri-Kansas City on Saturday, and Hartford on Monday. The Crusaders will travel to Bryant at 7 p.m. Wednesday, before hosting the Beanpot Classic on Saturday with matches against Northeastern at noon and Boston College at 5.

Lafayette The Leopards opened the season with four matches, going 3-1 last week. Lafayette won 3-0 at St. Francis (N.Y.) on Wednesday before hosting the Lafayette College Tournament. The Leopards lost 3-1 to St. Peter's in the tournament opener on Friday, but bounced back to win two matches on Saturday, 3-1 over Delaware State and 3-0 over Fairleigh Dickinson. Lafayette will travel to Coppin State for a 7 p.m. match Wednesday. The Leopards will host Niagara at 6 p.m. Friday to open the Crosstown Tournament, which continues Saturday with an 11 a.m. match against Providence and a 4 p.m.  match against Rider.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks dropped to 1-5 on the season with two road losses on Wednesday. Lehigh lost 3-0 at Morgan State before losing 3-1 at Towson later that night. Lehigh will host St. Francis (N.Y.) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, before hosting Providence at 6 p.m. Friday to open the Crosstown Tournament. On Saturday, Lehigh will match up against Rider at 10 a.m. and Niagara at 4.

Navy The Midshipmen's streak fell to six straight with five losses last week. Navy lost 3-0 to No. 9 Minnesota on Tuesday. It was the Mipshipmen's first match against a nationally ranked opponent since 2000. Navy then dropped a pair of matches Friday and another pair Saturday. Morgan State and Maryland each won 3-0 on Friday, and Loyola and Towson each won 3-0 on Saturday. Navy will travel to the Delaware State Tournament Friday and Saturday for three matches. The Midshipmen will take on Maryland-Eastern Shore at 5 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, Navy will face Norfolk State at 9 a.m. and Delaware State at 1 p.m.