Sept. 14, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. -- The Army volleyball team made its trip to the West Coast a historical one, upending a ranked opponent for the first time in program history.

Setter Maureen Bannon and outside hitter Francine Vasquez each played a crucial role in the win, earning them League honors.

Bannon was selected as the Player of the Week, while Vasquez was named the Rookie of the Week.

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Player of the Week (9.7.09-9.14.09)

Maureen Bannon, Army Sr., S, Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount Bannon led the Black Knights to a 3-1 week, including a big win over then-No. 19 Pepperdine at the Pepperdine Tournament in Malibu, Calif., Saturday. Bannon had 45 assists in the match and 162 for the week moving her career total to 3,513 -- ninth on the League's all-time list. She opened the week with 48 assists in a 3-2 win over Marist. She also posted double-digit digs in three of four matches, finishing with 43 on the week. She had eight aces. This is the second time this season that Bannon, a two-time League Setter of the Year, has been named the Player of the Week.

Rookie of the Week (9.7.09-9.14.09)

Francine Vasquez, Army Fr., RS/OH, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Los Osos Vasquez was a driving force in the Black Knights' big win over then-No. 19 Pepperdine Saturday. She had 11 kills, 12 digs and six blocks in the 3-2 win. Overall, Vasquez had 36 kills, 36 digs and 11 blocks as Army went 3-1 last week. She added three assists and three service aces. Army has won three straight Rookie of the Week awards.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Krysta Cicala, American Fr., S, Northville, Mich./Louisiana Tech Cicala recorded 118 assists and 19 digs in three matches last week as American went 1-2. She had 50 assists in head coach Barry Goldberg's 500th win.

Chelsey O'Donnell, Holy Cross Jr., S, Pittsburgh, Pa./West Allegheny O'Donnell recorded 107 assists in four matches, including 42 in a 3-1 win over Bryant. She also had 38 digs last week.

Cara Mulholland, Lafayette Sr., OH, Jenkintown, Pa./Mount St. Joseph Academy Mulholland helped Lafayette to a 4-0 week with 49 kills and 43 digs. She had a kill percentage of .288.

Brittany Dickinson, Lehigh Jr., S, Stratford, Conn./Frank Scott Bunnell Dickinson had 116 assists, 23 kills and 30 digs as Lehigh went 3-1 last week. She recorded a .306 attack percentage for the week.

Golden 500

Barry Goldberg, in his 21st season as the head coach of American, became the first volleyball coach in the Patriot League to collect 500 wins as American defeated NJIT 3-1 Saturday. Entering 2009, he was 24th on the Division I all-time career victories list and 18th with a .727 winning percentage. He is now 500-194 overall.

Freshman Company

Army has taken the first three Rookie of the Week awards with Ariana Mankus winning the first two and Francine Vasquez winning the latest. 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 8-3 start. She has amassed a League-high 136 kills for the Black Knights and has a .274 attack percentage, ranked second in the League. She's also averaging 3.49 kills per set, also ranked second. Vasquez had 36 kills last week, including 11 in a 3-2 win over No. 19 Pepperdine.

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 380 assists in 2009, she has vaulted Fanta and taken over ninth place in League history with 3,513 career assists. She is 43 away from moving into eighth place. Fanta is ranked 10th with 3,402 assists. Fanta's 3,402 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 on the week, but that one win -- a 3-1 defeat of NJIT on Saturday -- was head coach Barry Goldberg's 500th career coaching win. The Eagles also lost to Virginia Tech 3-1 later that day. On Friday, Yale defeated American 3-1. The Eagles will host Howard at 7 p.m. Tuesday before welcoming in North Carolina at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Army The Black Knights went 3-1 last week, including a 3-2 win over then-No. 19 Pepperdine on Saturday. It was Army's first win against an AVCA Top 25 opponent. That win improved the Black Knights' win streak to four after Army had won 3-2 over Marist on Wednesday and 3-1 over UC Riverside on Friday. Army closed out the week with a 3-0 loss to Seattle. The Black Knights will return home for the West Point Challenge, starting on Friday with a noon match against Quinnipiac. Iowa and Army will square off later that night at 7. The tournament will close with Army facing Morgan State at noon on Sunday.

Bucknell The Bison dropped three matches over the week advancing their losing streak to four. All three were 3-0 sweeps at the Akron Invitational as West Virginia and Akron both defeated Bucknell on Friday and St. Francis (Pa.) won on Saturday. The Bison will return home for the Bucknell Invitational, hosting Delaware State at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Radford (noon) and Rutgers (5 p.m.) on Saturday.

Colgate The Raiders went 0-3 at the Long Island University Invitational, falling to the host institution 3-2 on Friday. On Saturday, Colgate fell 3-0 to Georgia and 3-2 to Siena. The Raiders will be on the road again this week at the Cornell Invitational. It will open with a match against Cornell at 7 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, the Raiders will compete against Buffalo at 1 p.m. and St. John's at 5.

Holy Cross The Crusaders picked up their first win of the season, but finished 1-2 last week. Holy Cross won 3-1 at Bryant on Wednesday, but was swept 3-0 in two matches at home in the Beanpot Classic against Northeastern and Boston College on Saturday. Holy Cross will travel to Central Connecticut for a 7 p.m. match Wednesday. The Crusaders will then compete in the Brown Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Holy Cross will face Brown at 7:30 p.m. to open the tournament on Friday. They will meet again at 4 p.m. Saturday after Holy Cross and Stony Brook compete at 1 p.m.

Lafayette The Leopards went 4-0 last week, improving their winning streak to six matches. Lafayette won 3-0 at Coppin State on Wednesday. In the Crosstown Tournament, host Lafayette won 3-1 against Niagara on Friday and 3-2 over Providence and 3-0 over Rider on Saturday. Lafayette will travel to Charleston, S.C., for the College of Charleston Tournament on Saturday. The Leopards will face South Florida at 1 p.m. and the College of Charleston at 7.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks went 3-1 last week, defeating St. Francis (N.Y.) 3-0 at home before going 2-1 in the Crosstown Tournament. Lehigh opened the tournament with a 3-2 win over Providence on Friday, before Saturday's 3-0 win over Rider and 3-1 loss to Niagara. Lehigh will travel to La Salle at 7 p.m. Tuesday and compete in three matches at the Columbia Tournament, which opens on Friday with a 5 p.m. match against Fairleigh Dickinson. On Saturday, Lehigh will match up against Bryant at 2:30 p.m. and Columbia at 7:30.

Navy The Midshipmen ended their seven-match losing streak with a win at the Delaware State University Hornet Invitational on Saturday. The streak reached seven with a 3-0 loss to Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday, but it ended Saturday with a 3-0 win over Norfolk State. Delaware State defeated Navy 3-1 later Saturday night. The Midshipmen will travel to Elon, N.C., for the Elon Volleyball Classic this weekend. Navy will open with Georgia State at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The Midshipmen will then face Norfolk State at 10 a.m. and Elon at 7 p.m. on Saturday.