Box Score

HAMILTON – Senior Diane Seely recorded 17 kills and sophomore Kathleen Harris added 13 to lead Colgate to a 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 14-25, 15-13) victory over visiting Niagara Friday in collegiate volleyball action at Cotterell Court.
 
Seely and Harris combined to record 30 of the Raiders' 56 kills in the match as Seely posted a .394 (17-4-33) attack clip while while Harris turned in a .208 (13-3-48) hitting percentage. Freshman Lauren Sanderson also joined the duo in double digits, notching eight spikes on the strength of a .368 (8-1-19) hitting percentage.
 
Junior Jackie Macy posted a double-double with team-bests of 43 assists and 23 digs. Freshman Elena Simpson joined Macy in the double-digit digs category as she tallied 13 in her collegiate debut.
 
Nicole Matheis led all players with 22 kills and Rayenne Hale added 10 for Niagara. Freshman Alexis Gray led all players with 54 assists while senior Allison Reis finished with a match-best 35 digs to lead four Purple Eagle players with double-digit digs.
 
Bottom Line
Colgate 3, Niagara 2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 14-25, 15-13)

Won-Lost Records

• The Raiders begin the season at 1-0.
• The Purple Eagles start their campaign at 0-1.  

Turning Point

• With the score tied at 2-2 heading into the fifth and decisive set, Colgate rattled off seven of the first nine points of the frame to build an early 7-2 cushion.
• The Raiders continued to maintain control of the frame, taking a 13-6 edge later in the set before the Purple Eagles rallied with a seven of the next eight points to make it a 14-13 contest.
• Seely would squash Niagara's comeback attempt on the next point, however, recording her team-leading 17th spike of the contest to give the Eagles a 15-13 triumph and the match.  
• The two teams battled back and forth through the first four sets of the match. Colgate opened the evening with a 25-22 victory in the opening frame, only to see Niagara respond with a 25-19 win in the second set to level the contest at 1-all. A 25-22 Raider decision in the third set gave Colgate a 2-1 lead, but Niagara responded with a 25-14 victory to once again draw even and force a fifth set.

Raiders In Season Openers Under Baker

• With the win, Colgate improves to 6-3 under Baker in home and season openers. The Raiders have opened all nine of their seasons under Baker at home.

Cotterell Court Advantage

• Colgate improved to 19-6 at home since the start of the 2012 season.  The Raiders were 9-2 at home last season and 9-4 in Hamilton for the 2012 campaign.

 Series Stuff

• Colgate picked up its sixth win in seven tries against Niagara dating back to the 1998 season as the Raiders increased their lead in the all-time series to 10-2.
• The victory also moved the Raiders to 6-1 against the Purple Eagles at home all-time.
• Friday's contest served as the first meeting between the two programs since a 3-2 Colgate triumph over Niagara in the Niagara/Cansisus Invitational on Sept. 11, 2010.

Inside The Box Score

• The match featured a total of just nine ties and five lead changes as three of the five sets saw one team lead wire-to-wire. The third set featured the majority of the back-and-forth action with a total of eight ties and five lead changes.
• Both teams hit better than .200 for the match as Colgate turned in a .207 (56-20-174) hitting percentage while Niagara fashioned a .216 (67-27-185) attack clip.
• The two teams combined for 17 total blocks, with Niagara holding a slim 9.0-8.0 edge in that category.
• All 16 players for Colgate and 10 of the 13 members on Niagara's roster saw playing time in the match.

Quotable
Head Coach Ryan Baker (on team's performance)
"It was exactly what I expected. We're young, inexperienced and have a lot of new players on the court for us. Give Niagara a lot of credit, they were scrappy, they made us make plays and we struggled at times. But it says a lot about the team because we found a way to win."
 
Junior Jackie Macy (on team's performance)
"I think we all came out with a little bit of nerves, but we did what he had to do. It was a tough win but we gutted it out. It's always exciting to win the first match of the season at home."
 
Up Next

• Colgate will host Montreal in a pair of exhibitions Saturday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m.) before returning to regular season action next weekend in the Penn Invitational Sept. 5-6 . The Raiders will face the host Quakers, Georgetown and Cleveland State in the two-day event.
• Niagara is back in action Saturday when faces Temple (1:30 p.m.) and Delaware State (4 p.m.) in Syracuse's Big Orange Tournament. 

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