Boston College Athletics
Volleyball Gears Up for Yale Invitational
September 01, 2011 | Volleyball
Sept. 1, 2011
Contestants: Boston College, Colgate, Utah, Yale
Event: Yale Invitational
Date: Friday, September 2 - Saturday, September 3
Location: New Haven, Conn.
Links: Yale Volleyball; Live Stats
Full Notes: Yale Invitational Notes 
Chestnut Hill, Mass. -The Boston College volleyball team heads to New Haven, Conn. to compete in the Yale Invitational this from September 2-3. The Eagles (0-2) open up the showcase against Yale on Friday at 7 p.m., before returning Saturday to take on Utah at 1 p.m. and Colgate at 5 p.m.
The Eagles aim to improve upon opening weekend in which they lost to AVCA No. 9 Florida and Auburn, 3-0, in both matches. Boston College returned to campus late Tuesday night after completing the Active Ankle ACC/SEC Challenge in Gainesville, Fla. Saturday evening. The trip home was delayed due to Hurricane Irene.
Senior Brennan Clark leads the back-row charge as the instrumental component of BC's defense. The Mililani, Hawaii native led the Eagles with 15 digs and was named to the all-tournament team. The captain continues her climb on BC's all-time digs list, as the libero currently ranks fourth with 1,289 career digs, behind Allison Anderson (2,176), Lauren Schwer (1,377) and Katie Andersen (1,332).
Junior captain Krystle Higgins led the Eagles with five blocks on opening weekend. Fellow middle hitters Alex Fitzmorris and Melissa McTighe stuffed a combined seven shots in the Sunshine State.
Sophomore setter Cagla Sen dealt out 29 assists over the weekend and will look to veteran outside hitters Tsvetelina Dureva and Val Mattaliano for increased production on the ends. Dureva and Mattaliano averaged 2.00 and 1.83 kills per game, while adding 2.17 and 1.33 digs each set, respectively.
This will be the first meeting between Boston College and Yale since the 2008 season. The reigning Ivy League Champions lead the all-time series, 5-1, and will open the season against Boston College.
The Bulldogs return nine letterwinners from 2010 and will be led by All-Ivy Leaguers Bridget Hearst and Kendall Polan. Hearst led her squad with 330 kills (3.51 kpg), while Polan totaled 830 assists (9.02 apg) en route to being named Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Yale went 18-8 overall and 12-2 in conference a year ago.
Boston College and Utah have never met on the court. The Utes kicked off the season with a 2-1 performance at the Utah Classic, defeating Weber State, 3-0, and Cal State Northridge, 3-0, before dropping a 3-0 decision to Northwestern.
The Utes are led by three young hitters. Sophomores Morgan Odale and Erin Redd both collected all-tournament honors, while freshman Chelsey Schofield made an impression in her collegiate debut. Odale paced Utah on 27 kills (3.00 kpg) and 27 digs, with Redd leading the way behind 17 total blocks (1.89 bpg) and adding 24 kills. Scholfield's stat line consisted of 26 kills, 22 digs and 12 blocks.
Colgate went 1-2 at the Colgate Classic last weekend. The Raiders, who were picked to finish third in the Patriot League, fell to Buffalo, 3-2, and Seton Hall, 3-1, before defeating Buffalo, 3-1, in a rematch. BC holds the all-time series advantage, 6-2, and has defeated Colgate in the last six meetings.
Sophomore Lindsay Young averaged three kills per game over 13 sets and totaled 35 digs on opening weekend. Most of the Raiders' ball distribution flowed through sophomore Kaylee Fifer, who recorded 77 assists, while the biggest net presence was senior Maureen Colligan with 10 blocks.
