Lowe named to All-Patriot League preseason team

HAMILTON, N.Y. » After notching 407 kills in her debut season in 2017, Colgate volleyball sophomore Alli Lowe has garnered 2018 Preseason AllPatriot League accolades, while the Raiders were predicted to finish fifth in the league’s preseason poll announced Wednesday afternoon.

Five-time defending Patriot League Champion American earned the top spot in the league’s preseason poll with 188 points and 16 first-place votes. Lehigh was picked to finish second with 103 points and two first-place tallies, narrowly trailed by Navy who earned 100 points. Army West Point was predicted to finish fourth with 86 points, while the Raiders were right behind with 82 to round out the top five of the league’s poll.

A native of Kennett Square, Pa., Lowe was named both Patr iot League and Colgate Athletics Rookie of the Year for her efforts in the 2017 campaign. In addition to First Team All-Patriot League honors, Lowe tallied four Patriot League Rookie of the Week accolades. In her debut season, Lowe led the Raiders with 407 kills and her 3.88 kills per set average ranked second in the Patriot League and 58th nationally. Lowe tallied 23 double- digit kill matches throughout the season and five 20-plus kill matches, including a career-high performance of 25 kills in Colgate’s NIVC match against Towson (Nov. 30). On the season, Lowe averaged a .241 hitting percentage in addition to marking 59 digs and 31 total blocks.

The Raiders finished 1811 overall and 9-7 in the Patriot League in 2017, prior to making an appearance in the postseason when they faced Towson in the first round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. Colgate opens the 2018 season next weekend in a three-match tournament at the University of California. The action gets underway against Rutgers at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 24.

Volleyball Preseason All-Patriot League Team

•Kennedy Etheridge, American, Sr., S

•Aleksandra Kazala, American, Sr., OH

•Kristen Largay, American, Jr., L

•Alli Lowe, Colgate, So., OH

•Ana Spangenberg, Lehigh, So., OH

• Patricia Mat t ingly, Navy, Sr., S

•Katie Patrick, Navy, Sr., MH

Patriot League Volleyball Preseason Poll

•American – 118 (16 firstplace votes)

•Lehigh – 103 (2 firstplace votes) •Navy – 100 •Army West Point – 86 •Colgate – 82 •Bucknell – 59 •Loyola Maryland – 37 •Holy Cross – 30 •Lafayette - 23

SUBMITTED PHOTO - ONEIDA DAILY DISPATCH Colgate sophomore Alli Lowe was named to the preseason All-Patriot League team.