Box Score

HAMILTON, N.Y. -- Colgate scored the very first point of the opening set in its Saturday afternoon volleyball match against Illinois-Chicago.

But despite a close duel at Cotterell Court, the Raiders never could gain another advantage in dropping a 3-0 decision in the Colgate Classic. The Horizon League members from Chicago won by the scores of 25-20, 26-24 and 25-21.

"While we would love to have gotten the win, I felt we played a much better volleyball match this afternoon,” Colgate head coach Ryan Baker said. “The intensity level was there; we just need to execute our skills much better.

“This tournament has quality teams that are pushing us, which is what you want out of preseason.”

Rallies Each Game
UIC (1-1) held leads over Colgate of five points in the opening set, six in the second and five again in the third. But Colgate stayed close throughout and staged impressive rallies in all three sets to overcome the early deficits.

After gaining that initial 1-0 lead, Colgate was forced to rally from a 6-2 hole. The Raiders did just that to close within one point on three occasions, the last coming at 15-14. Service errors proved costly, however, as the Raiders made four while UIC had an opening-set attack percentage of .400.

The Flames were strong at the end, finishing on a 5-2 run for a 25-20 opening set decision.

Set 2 was similar to the first in the early going, with Illinois-Chicago building advantages of 7-4, 12-7 and 15-9.

But the second-set serving of Illinois native Caitlin Cremin was a spark for the Raiders. Her pair of service aces boosted Colgate into ties at 16-all and 17-all. UIC steadied and pulled to a 24-21 lead when the Raiders struck again to stave off three consecutive match points.

But a crucial front-line block by UIC's MaryKate Imrie against Colgate's Michelle McCarthy was the deciding point in the 26-24, second-set result.

Young Again Sharp
After the locker room break before the third set, Colgate came out flat and lost the first five points. A Baker timeout seemed just the remedy, however, as the Raiders rallied to score six of the next seven and knot things a 7-7.

Freshman outside hitter Brook Shupryt-Knoop was a key server during the rally, and Lindsay Young continued her excellent weekend of play with one of her team-leading 10 kills for the match. The junior outside hitter from Tampa, Fla., finished with a .421 attack percentage.

"Lindsay Young had another strong performance for us,” Baker said. “She is leading with her play and her overall passion."

Colgate fell behind 13-9, and it was 18-14 when Baker again called a key timeout. And as was the case earlier, the Raiders responded – this time scoring five of the next six points to draw level at 19-19.

But the lanky Illinois-Chicago front line proved too much down the stretch, with three straight kills keying a closing 6-2 run for the third-set final score of 25-21.

Colgate (0-2) finished with a team attack percentage of .204, with 42 kills to 44 for UIC. Kaylee Fifer contributed 25 assists, while McCarthy added nine kills and Katie Fauntleroy seven.

In earlier Classic action Saturday, Syracuse (2-0) rallied for a 3-1 win over Bryant (1-1). The Orange won by the scores of 21-25, 26-24, 25-14 and 25-21.

Colgate's third and final game of the season-opening event is tonight against Syracuse. Play begins at 7:30 on Cotterell Court inside the Reid Athletic Center.