CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Army West Point and Lehigh captured two wins over the weekend, as the 2017 Patriot League volleyball slate began on Friday. Bucknell and Lafayette each posted a 3-1 victory to open the schedule 1-1, while American and Navy each played only one match over the weekend. Both earned wins over Loyola Maryland and will face each other on Tuesday, when the Mids host the Eagles at 7 p.m.
The Black Knights tallied a pair of 3-0 victories of Bucknell and Lafayette to jump out to a 2-0 league record and improve to 9-6 overall. Senior middle blocker Rachel Gearon stepped up to help lead the team to the victories, finishing the week with 23 kills and a .514 hitting percentage. She hit a career-high .619 against the Leopards, tying a career-high 14 kills.
Sophomore middle blocker Mimi Richards helped Bucknell capture its first win over Colgate since 2010, ending a 13-match losing streak in the series. She posted 22 kills, hitting .459, and added five digs and six blocks in the match against the Raiders.
Currently, American junior outside hitter Aleksandra Kazala leads the League with 243 kills while averaging a League-best 4.76 kills per set. Army senior middle blocker Carolyn Bockrath holds the best hitting percentage at .410. Colgate senior setter Lauren Sanderson has a League-best 540 assists and assists per set average of 11.25, and Holy Cross freshman libero Sophie VanSeveren leads the League with 284 digs and 6.04 digs per set. Richards sits at the top of the blocks per set category, averaging 1.46.
The complete volleyball composite schedule with box scores can be found by
clicking here.
Last Week’s Results
Friday, September 22
Army 3, Bucknell 0
American 3, Loyola 0
Lafayette 3, Holy Cross 1
Lehigh 3, Colgate 0
Saturday, September 23
Army 3, Lafayette 0
Lehigh 3, Holy Cross 0
Bucknell 3, Colgate 1
Navy 3, Loyola 0
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Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday, September 26
American at Navy, 7 p.m. (PLN)
Friday, September 29
Navy at Colgate, 6 p.m. (PLN)
American at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.
Lafayette at Bucknell, 7 p.m.
Loyola at Army, 7 p.m. (PLN)
Saturday, September 30
Loyola at Colgate, 4 p.m. (PLN)
Lafayette at Lehigh, 4 p.m. (PLN)
Navy at Holy Cross, 6 p.m.
American at Army, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 1
Bucknell at Lehigh, 1 p.m. (PLN) |
The volleyball weekly awards for Sept. 18 - 24 went to Ana Spangenberg (Lehigh) and Clare Honan (Holy Cross).
Patriot League Volleyball Weekly Awards
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
ANA SPANGENBERG, LEHIGH So., RS, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Lehigh extended its winning-streak to six with the help of Spangenberg, who led the team to a pair of Patriot League victories over Colgate and Holy Cross. After the sophomore tallied eight digs, 15 kills, and hit .382 in the 3-0 sweep of Colgate, she posted a season-high .432 hitting percentage against Holy Cross with 19 kills.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
CLARE HONAN, HOLY CROSS Fr., MB, Wauwatosa, Wis.
Honan totaled 17 kills across matches against Lafayette and Lehigh, earning her first weekly award honor. The freshman tied a personal best of 14 kills against the Leopards, hitting .220. She also added four digs against Lafayette and finished with six total blocks on the week.
HONORABLE MENTION
RACHEL GEARON, ARMY WEST POINT Sr., MB, Leawood, Kan.
Gearon led the team with 23 kills and hit .514 in Army’s two wins over Bucknell and Lafayette. She recorded a career-high .619 hitting percentage against the Leopards and finished with six total blocks.
MIMI RICHARDS, BUCKNELL So., MB, Richardson, Texas
Richards recorded 31 kills and hit .400, as the Bison went 1-1 against Army and Colgate. She also added 10 total blocks.
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its third decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.