Colgate volleyball senior Kathleen Harris was selected as the preseason Patriot League Player of the Year, as the league announced Wednesday afternoon.
“What a great honor for Kat,” Colgate head coach Ryan Baker said. “She is one of the best six rotation players I’ve coached in my tenure here at Colgate, and it appears that my peers within the league feel the same way.
“Besides her strong skill set, she is also a great teammate and leader. We look forward to her having a great year for us.”
In addition, the outside hitter earned a spot on the preseason All-League squad. During her junior campaign, the Playa del Rey, California, native led the Raiders with 306 kills, averaging 3.12 kills per set. That performance earned her All-Patriot League First Team honors.
Colgate received 100 points in league voting, good for a predicted third-place finish. The Raiders finished 2015 conference play with a 10-6 record and earned a spot in the Patriot League tournament, where they fell to eventual champions American in the semifinals.
“We don’t talk about polls very much in our gym,” Baker said. “It’s great to know that people feel we should qualify for the Patriot League tournament once again, but we have a lot of work ahead of us. Our focus is on improvement rather than opinions.”
The poll and preseason All-League teams were voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors, who could not vote for their own teams or student-athletes.
The Raiders open their season Saturday when they host Connecticut at 4 p.m. on Cotterell Court. The team then travels to Syracuse to take on the Orange on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Patriot League Volleyball Preseason Player of the Year: Kathleen Harris, COLGATE
2016 Preseason All-Patriot League Volleyball Team
- Hoakalei Dawson, American (Jr., L)
- Aleksandra Kazala, American (So., OH)
- Carolyn Bockrath, Army (Jr., MB)
- Vanessa Wesley, Army (Jr., MB/RS)
- Kathleen Harris, COLGATE (Sr., OH)
- Mandy Sifferlen, Holy Cross (Sr., OH)
- Megan Polak, Lehigh (So., S)
2016 Patriot League Volleyball Preseason Poll
- American, 123 points (11 first-place votes)
- Army West Point, 114 points (7 first-place votes)
COLGATE 100 points
- Lehigh, 89 points
- Navy, 71 points
- Bucknell, 61 points
- Lafayette, 32 points
- Holy Cross, 31 points
- Loyola, 27 points