Oct. 26, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. -- Two Army freshmen highlight last week's volleyball action in, helping the Black Knights win their 13th straight match and improve to 9-0 in the League. Together, the rookie duo was honored by the Patriot League Monday.

Ariana Mankus, a five-time Rookie of the Week award winner, won her first Player of the Week award for her 44 kills in two wins.

Francine Vasquez was awarded her second Rookie of the Week honor for her performance last week.

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Player of the Week (10.19.09-10.25.09)

Ariana Mankus, Army  Fr., OH, Lisle, Ill./Benet Academy Mankus, a five-time Rookie of the Week award winner, picked up her first Offensive Player of the Year award with 44 kills and 24 digs last week. She led Army to a 3-2 win over Colgate on Friday with 24 kills and a .420 hitting percentage. She also had a big match against Bucknell, notching 20 digs and 16 digs. Mankus leads the Patriot League in kills with 333.

Rookie of the Week (10.19.09-10.25.09)

Francine Vasquez, Army  Fr., RS/OH, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Los Osos  Vasquez won her second Rookie of the Week award and Army's seventh this season with her back-to-back double-double last week. She posted 14 kills and 15 digs in a big 3-2 win over Colgate Friday to help Army take firm control over first place. She followed that effort up with 16 kills and 10 digs against Bucknell. Vasquez also had eight blocks on the week, including six in the Black Knights' win over Colgate.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Heidi Kamp, Bucknell  Jr., MB, Eugene, Ore./Henry D. Sheidon  Kamp posted 28 kills and 11 blocks in two matches last week. Her 15 kills against Army tied a career-high and her nine blocks in that match were a career-best.

Megan Lynch, Holy Cross  Fr., OH, Mendham, N.J./Mendham  Lynch had a career-high 23 kills in a 3-1 win over Bucknell. She also had a double-double against Colgate with 15 kills and 10 digs. 

Cara Mulholland, Lafayette  Sr., OH, Jenkintown, Pa./Mt. St. Joseph  Mulholland had 18 kills and 19 digs last week as Lafayette went 1-1. She had 12 kills, two assists, two blocks and a service ace against Navy.

Patriot League Notebook

Gateway to the League Tourney

Army rolled through the first half of the League schedule, winning all seven matches, and started the second half of the League slate with two wins to clinch a berth into the Patriot League Tournament. The Black Knights' wins over the weekend included a 3-2 win over second-place Colgate (7-2). The Raiders' only losses have come to the Black Knights.

Fresh Leaders

It's getting younger among the top teams in the League this season. The League-leading Army Black Knights have been powered by five-time Rookie of the Week and this week's Player of the Week, Ariana Mankus, while second-place Colgate has enjoyed the contributions from freshman Kaleigh Durket. Third-place American also has found a gem in setter Krysta Cicala, who is second the League in assists with 857 (10.45 per set). Mankus is the League leader in kills with 333 (3.78), while Durket is fifth 228 (3.17). Holy Cross freshman Megan Lynch also is in the top five in kills at No. 2 with 307 (3.49). Bucknell freshman Ragin Jackson is fifth in the League in blocks per set with 0.86 (61). Army has led the way in the freshman category by taking seven of the first nine Rookie of the Week awards with Ariana Mankus winning five times and Francine Vasquez winning twice.

Set To Move Into Top Three

Army's Maureen Bannon leads the League in assists with 928 and she's been quickly climbing the League's all-time list. Outside the top 10 when the season began, Bannon has made her way to fourth place and with five regular-season matches remaining, she has her eyes set on the top three. With her 83 assists last week, Bannon jumped from sixth to fourth with a career total of 3,961. She's averaging 38.6 assists per match and she's 131 away from moving into third place. She is 230 away from second and 419 away from tying the League record. She's not the only League setter climbing the list as Colgate's Meghan Fanta is ranked eighth with 3,763 assists. Fanta's 3,763 assists is a school record at Colgate. Fanta is ranked seventh in the League in 2009 with 6.51 assists per set, while Bannon is first with 10.55. American freshman Krysta Cicala is second in the League with 10.45 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.

Team Notebooks

American  The Eagles improved their winning streak to three matches with two 3-0 sweeps over Lehigh on Friday and Lafayette on Saturday. It was a block party against Lafayette as American tied a school record for block assists on Saturday with 30. Claire Recht recorded 10 block assists herself, one off of American's record of 11. The Eagles will return to the court against Navy at 7 p.m. Thursday.  

Army  The Black Knights won two more League matches last week to improve to 21-3 overall and 9-0 in the Patriot League. Army defeated Colgate on Friday in an epic 3-2 match to give the Black Knights a two-match lead  and a sweep over the second-place Raiders. On Saturday, Army added to its lead with a 3-1 win over Bucknell and clinched a berth into the League Tournament. The Black Knights have now won 13 straight matches. Ariana Mankus had a huge weekend, posting 24 kills against Colgate and 20 against Bucknell. The hard-hitting freshman has hit double figures in kills in 16 of Army's 24 matches, including each of the last five. Army will have a light week with just one match when the Black Knights host Holy Cross at 5 p.m. Saturday. 

Bucknell The Bison lost two matches last week, falling 3-1 at Holy Cross on Friday and 3-1 to Army on Saturday. Despite the loss, it was a career-high kind of day for the Bison against Army. Ragin Jackson and Heidi Kamp each hit a career high with 15 kills against the Black Knights, while Kaitlin Segal had a career-best 22 digs. Allison Gittings nearly bested her career mark in assists with her 41 Saturday. She had set her personal mark at 42 the night before against Holy Cross. The Bison will return to the court against second-place Colgate at 7 p.m. Friday. 

Colgate The Raiders went 1-1 last week, taking Army to a fifth set, but falling 3-2 on Friday. Colgate bounced back with a 3-0 win at Holy Cross on Saturday. With her 56 assists versus Army and Holy Cross, Meghan Fanta needs 47 assists to move into seventh on the all-time Patriot League assist list. The senior could pass former Lehigh standout Patty Watson this week with two matches versus Binghamton and Bucknell. For the second consecutive week, Kaylee Dougherty hit better than .300. The junior posted a .350 hitting efficiency. She hit .667 with 10 kills in 15 attacks in a three-set victory at Holy Cross. In her last four matches, she has 37 kills, 10 errors, 80 attacks (.338 hitting percentage) with three block solos and eight block assists. Logan Keala broke a personal best with 18 digs in the five set loss versus Army Friday. Colgate will host Binghamton in a non-League match at 7 p.m. Wednesday before traveling to Bucknell for a 7 p.m. League match Friday. 

Holy Cross The Crusaders went 1-1 last weekend, picking up a 3-1 win over Bucknell on Friday and losing 3-0 to Colgate on Saturday. Freshman Megan Lynch led the Crusaders with 38 kills and 19 digs, including a career-best 23 against Bucknell. The Crusaders will return to the court with a trip to first-place Army at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Lafayette The Leopards went 1-1 last week, sweeping Navy on the road 3-0 on Friday and losing 3-0 at American on Saturday. Cara Mulholland led the Leopards with 18 kills and 19 digs. The Leopards will face League-rival Lehigh at 7 p.m. Friday. 

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks saw their losing streak advance to five matches with a 3-0 loss at American on Friday; however, Lehigh ended the streak on Saturday with a 3-2 win at Navy. Chelsea Sheridan and Angelika Kopacz led the Mountain Hawks in their win over Navy with 17 and 16 kills, respectively. Kopacz also had 10 digs. Lehigh will return to the court with a road match at League-rival Lafayette at 7 p.m. Friday.

Navy The Midshipmen went 0-2 last week and had their losing streak move to four straight matches. Navy lost to Lafayette 3-0 on Friday and Lehigh 3-2 on Saturday. Against Lehigh, Krista Eschelman recorded a career-high 17 kills and Jenny Rudewicz had a career-high 45 assists.  Ndidi Ibe posted a career-high 10 kills in their loss to Lafayette. Navy will travel to American for a League contest at 7 p.m. Thursday.