SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Led by tournament MVP Kenize Hume, Colgate defeated Syracuse and Albany to capture the Otto Invitational on Sunday.

The Raiders opened the day with a dramatic 3-2 (18-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-11), come-from-behind victory over the host Orange before knocking off the Great Danes, 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-14, 25-15), in the nightcap.

Bottom Line
- Colgate 3, Syracuse 2 (18-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-11)
- Colgate 3, Albany 1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-14, 25-15)

Won-Lost Record
- Colgate improved to 6-4 on the season as it finished the Otto Invitational with a perfect 3-0 record.

How It Happened (Syracuse)
- Syracuse never trailed in the first set as it built a quick 4-1 margin and later used a 7-2 spurt to close out the frame and post a 25-18 victory.
- The Orange would take a closely contested second set, 25-21, using a service error and three kills to break a 21-all tie and grab a 2-0 lead in the match.
- Colgate began its comeback with a 25-23 victory in a tightly contested third set that featured a total of nine ties and six lead changes as the Raiders took advantage of a pair of Syracuse attack errors with the score knotted at 23-all to extend the match.
- With the score tied at 13-13 in the fourth set, the Raiders notched four of the next five points to ignite a 9-4 stretch that would propel Colgate to a 25-20 victory and send the match to a fifth and decisive set.
- Colgate carried its momentum into the fifth set as it notched seven of the first eight points of the frame to race out to a 7-1 lead. The Orange would get as close as three on two occasions later in the set, but the Raiders held on for a 15-11 triumph and the match.

Statistical Leaders (Colgate)
- Senior Diane Seely recorded a team-best 16 kills and Hume added nine. Both players finishing with hitting percentages above .300 as Seely finished with a .306 (16-5-36) attack clip while Hume turned in a .318 (9-2-22) mark.
- Freshman Molly Smith posted her first career double-double with 22 assists and 11 digs.
- Junior Jackie Macy dished out 22 assists and added nine digs to finish just shy of a double-double.
- Sophomore Kathleen Harris led four players in double-digit digs with 15. Freshman Elena Simpson notched 14 and junior Brook Shupryt-Knoop added 12.
- Seely and Faines both tallied five total blocks apiece with each player notching one solo block.

Statistical Leaders (Syracuse)
- Monika Salkute and Silvi Uattara notched 18 kills each for Syracuse.
- Gosia Wlaszczuk handed out a match-best 42 assists and chipped in eight digs.
- Uattara led all players with 18 digs while Salkute added 15 to give both players a double-double. Belle Sand joined the duo in double figures with 13 bumps.

Inside The Boxscore (Syracuse)
- The match featured a total of 24 ties and 13 lead changes, all of which occurred in the middle three sets of the match.
- Syracuse hit .205 as a team for the match, but combined to post a hitting percentage of .096 (29-19-104) over the final three sets.

How It Happened (Albany)
- Colgate took the first set, 25-19, recording eight of the first 10 points of the frame to gain an 8-2 edge before closing out the frame with a 7-3 spurt to post the six-point victory.
- Albany evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-23 victory in the second set that saw the Great Danes take advantage of a pair of Raider miscues to snap a 23-23 tie and even the match.
- Holding a 12-10 lead midway through the third set, Colgate used a 13-4 run to pull away and post a 25-14 victory.
- The fourth set saw the Raiders build an early 5-1 margin, only to have Albany pull within one, 13-12, later in the frame. That would be as close as the Great Danes would get, however, as Colgate tallied 12 of the final 15 points to secure a 25-15 decision and the match.

Statistical Leaders (Colgate)
- Senior Kenzie Hume recorded 15 kills and committed just one attack error in 28 total attempts for a .500 hitting percentage to power a Colgate lineup that combined for 55 kills and a .283 attack clip for the match.
- Sophomore Kathleen Harris joined Hume in double digits as she notched 10 kills and hit .250 (10-2-32).
- Senior Diane Seely chipped in nine spikes and did not commit an error in 22 total attempts to finish with a .409 attack clip.
- Junior Jackie Macy added 23 assists and freshman Molly Smith added 17.
- Freshman Elena Simpson notched 25 digs while Hume and freshman Madison McAndews added nine bumps each.

Inside The Boxscore
- The match featured a total of 16 ties and eight lead changes.
- Colgate posted an attack percentage of .200 or higher in all four sets while Albany was held below .200 for all four frames.

Statistical Leaders (Albany)
- Olivia Schonewise notched 12 kills for Albany, who was limited to a .053 hitting percentage for the match.
- Mikala McCauley led all players with 29 assists.
- Laini Leindecker tallied a team-best 16 digs while Emily Lopes added 14.

Humes Named MVP; Faines Selected To All-Tournament Team
- Senior Kenzie Hume was named the MVP of the Otto Invitational after a strong weekend that saw her record 33 kills (2.54 kills per set) and fashion a .424 hitting percentage. She was also a force at the net, recording nine total blocks (0.69 blocks per set), highlighted by three solo rejections.
- Senior Mari Faines joined Hume on the All-Tournament Team. Faines notched 17 spikes (1.55 kills per set) and turned in a .306 attack clip while also finishing with nine total blocks (0.82 blocks per set).

Orange Juiced
- Colgate's victory over Syracuse marked the program's first victory over its Central New York rival since the 1995 season, when it posted a 3-2 victory in Hamilton.
- The Orange had won 21 straight in the series prior to the Raiders' victory on Sunday.

Raiders Undefeated Against Empire State Foes In 2014
- With wins over Albany, Cornell and Syracuse this weekend, Colgate improved to 4-0 this season against opponents from the state of New York. The Raiders opened the season with a 3-2 victory over Niagara at home on Aug. 29.
- Colgate will have a chance to add to its totals with a pair of matchups against Army during Patriot League play.

Quotable
Colgate Head Coach Ryan Baker (on team's performance)
"I am so proud of this team. They showed such heart and fight against some great competition. Each team stressed us in a different way and we responded. It's an awesome way to wrap up our non-conference schedule."

Up Next
- Colgate opens Patriot League play Friday with a 7 p.m. match at Holy Cross.

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