Oct. 29, 2008
Center Valley, Pa.American remained undefeated in League play with a pair of straight-set victories, extending their Patriot League winning streak to 17 matches and clinching a berth in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament. Army can clinch a spot in the tournament this week, as well. The Black Knights travel to Holy Cross. The Army-Holy Cross match is one of four League matches on the slate for this week.
Patriot League Volleyball Release 10.29.08 
Patriot League Baden Player of the Week
Christina Nash, American Sr., S, Princeton, Fla.
Nash led American to a 2-0 week in League play, including a win over Army to take sole possession of first place. On Friday against Army, Nash guided the Eagles' offense to a combined .352 hitting percentage. She dished out 33 assists, scored two kills herself and also chipped in defensively with six digs and two block assists. Against Holy Cross on Saturday, Nash steered the Eagles to a .378 hitting percentage. She recorded 29 assists, five kills, a .714 hitting percentage, six digs and two block assists against the Crusaders. For the week, Nash averaged 10.34 assists per set while leading American to a .365 hitting percentage. She registered a .545 hitting percentage herself, as she recorded seven kills on 11 attempts with just on error. She also recorded 12 digs and four block assists.
Patriot League Baden Rookie of the Week
Kaylee Dougherty, Colgate Fr., MB/RS, Landisville, Pa.
Dougherty averaged 2.71 kills per set with a .428 hitting percentage in a pair of Colgate victories. Dougherty led the Raiders with 10 kills (3.33 per set) and a .389 hitting percentage in Friday's straight-sets win over Lehigh. She followed that with nine kills (2.25 per set) and a team-high .471 hitting percentage in a 3-1 triumph over Lafayette on Saturday. She also recorded four digs, four block assists and one block during last week's action.
Honorable Mention
Elizabeth Lazzari, Army
Sr., OH, Seal Beach, Calif.
Led Army in kills for both matches last week. Averaged 3.14 kills and 3.14 digs in seven sets. Posted her fifth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 16 digs against Navy.
Meghan Fanta, Colgate
Jr., S, Hillsboro, Wisc.
Averaged 10.57 assists and 2.00 digs per set. Posted 33 assists against Lehigh on Friday, while also contributing eight digs against the Mountain Hawks. Followed that with 41 assists against Lafayette.
Katrina Racibarskas, Lafayette
So., OH, Chatham, N.J.
Averaged 3.29 kills and 2.0 digs per set on the week. Helped the Leopards to a 3-0 win over Bucknell with 10 kills, seven digs and a block. Added 13 kills and seven digs in a loss to Colgate.
Kaitlin Segal, Bucknell
So., OH, Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Provided the Bison with 25 kills and 20 digs in seven sets. Hit .262 on the week. Produced her fifth double-double of the season with 17 kills and 12 digs at Lehigh. Also had four blocks against the Mountain Hawks.
Patriot League Notebook
2008 Patriot League DIG PINK
Patriot League schools raised over $10,000 for breast cancer research and awareness during the 2008 DIG PINK campaign. Leading the way was Lafayette, which raised over $3,000. DIG PINK is a yearly campaign supported by the SideOut Foundation to help raise money and awareness for breast cancer research.
Patriot League Recap
American captured sole possession of first place and clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament with a pair of wins over the weekend. The Eagles swept previous League unbeaten Army before sweeping Holy Cross. Army rebounded for a 3-1 win over Navy to remain firmly entrenched in second place. Colgate earned road wins over Lehigh and Lafayette to move into a third-place tie with Bucknell, which beat Lehigh but lost to Lafayette. Lehigh and Lafayette are tied for fifth place with Navy. The Mids went 1-1 in League play last week, while picking up a non-League win over Coppin State. Holy Cross, which dropped a pair of League contests, rounds out the standings at 0-9.
Patriot League Preview
League play will slow down somewhat this week. American will put its undefeated League mark on the line at Navy on Thursday. On Friday, Bucknell and Colgate will duke it out for third place in Hamilton, N.Y. Also, rivals Lehigh and Lafayette will square off on Friday in Easton, Pa. On Saturday, Army will look to remain in the hunt for first place and clinch a Patriot League Tournament berth, while Holy Cross will search for its first League win. The Black Knights and the Crusaders will square off at 7 p.m.
2008 Patriot League Tournament
The 2008 Patriot League Volleyball Championship will take place Friday-Saturday, Nov. 21-22 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 Friday, 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 Saturday, Nov. 22 with the winner earning the Patriot League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Team Notebooks
American The Eagles extended their winning streak to 12 matches with a pair of League victories. American moved to 9-0 in the Patriot League with straight-set wins over Army and Holy Cross. Against previous League-unbeaten Army, the Eagles recorded a combined .352 hitting percentage. They followed that with a .378 hitting percentage against Holy Cross. The Eagles have now won 17 consecutive Patriot League matches, dating back to October of last season. The Eagles will look to extend that streak with a Thursday match at Navy.
Army The Black Knights' eight-match winning streak came to an end with a 3-0 setback at first-place American on Friday. It was just the third time under Alma Kovaci that the Black Knights had been swept. Army rebounded with a 3-1 win over rival Navy, improving the Black Knights' overall record to 20-3. It is the fourth time in as many seasons that Army has won at least 20 matches. Army has now won 14 of its last 17 meetings with Navy. The Black Knights play at Holy Cross at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Bucknell The Bison remain in third place after splitting a pair of road matches last week. Bucknell dropped a 3-0 decision at Lafayette on Friday, but rebounded for a 3-1 win at Lehigh on Saturday. Shannon Pitsch moved into third place on the Bucknell charts for career service aces (131) in the Bison's match against Lehigh. Bucknell will remain on the road for a League match against Colgate on Friday at 6 p.m.
Colgate Megan Fanta added to her school-record assist total with 74 assists in four sets. She now has 2,990 for her career. Fanta helped the Raiders capture a pair of League matches and move into a tie for third place with Bucknell. The Raiders and Bison will square off for third place on Friday in Hamilton, N.Y. at 6 p.m.
Holy Cross The Crusaders remained winless in League play, falling at Navy and at American. In the Crusaders' 3-1 loss at Navy, sophomore setter Chelsea O'Donnell recorded her sixth double-double and the ninth of her career with 32 assists and 11 digs. O'Donnell added 15 assists in the Crusaders' 3-0 loss at American. Holy Cross will host second-place Army at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Lafayette Sophomore Katrina Racibarskas tallied 23 kills in seven sets to help the Leopards to a 1-1 weekend. Racibarskas recorded 10 kills, seven digs and four assists in Lafayette's 3-0 win over Bucknell. She notched 13 kills and seven digs in a 3-1 loss to Colgate. The Leopards are in a three-way tie for fifth place heading into the weekend. They will host arch rival Lehigh at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Lehigh Freshman Emma Melendez played all 10 sets as the Mountain Hawks went 1-2 on the week. The libero led the Mountain Hawks in digs (3.9 dps) in every match and helped Lehigh to a 3-0 win over LaSalle on Tuesday. The Mountain Hawks dropped a pair of League matches, putting them in a three-way tie for fifth place. Lehigh will battle arch rival Lafayette at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Navy The Mids snapped a five-match losing streak with a 3-1 win over Holy Cross on Friday. Navy then dropped a 3-1 contest to arch rival Army on Saturday. Outside hitter Jessie Sims led the Mids in digs in all three of Navy's matches last week, finishing with 45 digs in 11 sets. She also added 36 kills, giving her 1,200 career kills. The Mids will host first-place American on Thursday at 7 p.m.
