ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Colgate volleyball team opened its match against No. 23 Michigan by winning the first set, but the Wolverines claimed the final three to earn a 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 9-25, 14-25) victory Saturday night in the Michigan/EMU Challenge.
 
The Raiders were just the fourth team this season to take a set off the nationally-ranked Wolverines (11-1). Prior to tonight's match, eight of Michigan's 10 wins were 3-0 sweeps.
 
The Raiders got out to a quick 4-1 lead in the first set and never looked back. Michigan got within two of Colgate at 10-8, but kills from Katie Stebbins and Kathleen Harris helped string together a 4-0 run that stretched the Raider lead to 14-8. Colgate extended its lead to seven at 17-10 following a solo block from Taylor Flaherty and held onto that seven-point advantage at 22-15. The Wolverines responded with a 6-1 stretch to pull within two at 23-21, but kills from Harris and Jaelah Hutchison eventually locked up a 25-22 set-one victory.
 
The second set, a tight back-and-forth battle, was deadlocked on 11 different occasions until Michigan used a 3-0 run to turn an 18-17 deficit into a 20-18 advantage. Three kills from Harris helped the Raiders work the score to 22-22, but the Wolverines scored three of the final four points to grab a 25-23 set-two victory and even the match at 1-1.
 
Michigan got out to a quick 8-1 lead in the third set and Colgate was never able to recover. The Wolverines hit .542 in the third frame en route to a 25-9 victory that gave Michigan a 2-1 match advantage.
 
The fourth and final set was tied at 5-5 early on, but Michigan put together a 6-0 streak to jump ahead 11-5. Kills from Harris, Stebbins and Flaherty helped the Raiders narrow the gap to three at 13-10, but it would be as close as Colgate would get the rest of the way. The Wolverines responded with a 6-1 stretch that extended their lead to 19-11 and Colgate wasn't able to catch up as the Raiders fell 25-14 and Michigan claimed a 3-1 match victory.
 
BOTTOM LINE

• Michigan 3, Colgate 1 (25-22, 23-25, 9-25, 14-25)

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• No. 23 Michigan improves to 11-1 on the season.
• Colgate falls to 3-7 overall.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• Harris led the Raiders with 15 kills and a strong .303 hitting percentage. She also contributed nine digs, just missing a double-double.
• Stebbins chipped in 10 kills, while Stansbury pitched in nine.
• Molly Smith dished a team-high 22 assists and Lauren Sanderson added 19 helpers.
• Madison McAndrews registered a team-best 16 digs.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Raiders finished the match hitting .205 as a team, highlighted by a .400 clip in the first-set victory.
• The Wolverines hit .421 as a team.

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Ryan Baker

• "For two sets, it was quite possibly our best volleyball of the season and quite possibly in my entire tenure at Colgate. Raider Nation has a lot to be proud of. What I'm most happy about is that we aren't satisfied after a great performance. This team has their heads on."
• "Michigan made some great adjustments and we couldn't answer their 6'5 All-American rightside hitter."
• "I thought our entire team stepped up and it showed."

 
UP NEXT

• The Raiders wrap up the Michigan/EMU Challenge Sunday against Eastern Michigan.
• First serve from Ypsilanti, Mich. is set for 1 p.m.
• Information on how to follow can be found at Game Central.