WORCESTER, Mass.  – A career-high 12 kills from sophomore Jessica Lathan helped the Colgate volleyball team to a big 3-0 Patriot League road win at Holy Cross Saturday night.  
 
Lathan's 12 kills came off a blistering .500 hitting percentage. First-year Alli Lowe also finished with double-digit kills.
 
The Raiders got out to a quick 10-6 lead in the opening set before Holy Cross clawed back with a 6-3 run to pull within one at 13-12. A kill from junior Katie Stansbury sparked a 5-0 Raider streak that stretched the Colgate lead to 18-12. The Crusaders were able to work their way within two at 21-19 and 24-22, but a spike from sophomore Taylor Flaherty secured the 25-22 set-one victory for Colgate.
 
The second set began in a 9-9 tie, but Colgate rattled off four of the next five points to give itself a little separation at 13-10. The Crusaders eventually evened the score at 18 once again before taking a short-lived lead at 20-19. Back-to-back blocks from Lathan and Flaherty ignited a 6-0 set-closing Colgate run as the Raiders took the second frame 25-20.  
 
The third set also began in a 9-9 draw before two kills from Lathan helped Colgate string together a 6-2 run that gave the Raiders a 15-11 lead. The Raiders eventually stretched their advantage to 20-14 and Holy Cross was never able to recover as a kill from Lathan secured the 25-19 set-three win and 3-0 match sweep.
 
BOTTOM LINE

• Colgate 3, Lafayette 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-19)

 
WON-LOST RECORDS

• The Raiders improve to 10-8 on the season and pick up their first Patriot League win of the season.
• Holy Cross is now 3-15 overall and 0-5 in the league.

 
KEY RAIDER INFO

• Lathan's 12 kills were accompanied by five total blocks.
• Lowe chipped in 10 kills and a strong .368 hitting percentage.
• Senior Lauren Sanderson dished 29 assists and collected seven digs.
• Stansbury led the team with 10 digs.

 
FACTS & FIGURES

• Colgate hit .264 as a team and limited the Crusaders to a .094 hitting percentage.
• The Raiders have won six-straight matches against Holy Cross and improve to 49-6 all-time against the Crusaders.  

 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Ryan Baker

• "I'm proud of how we responded. It's been a tough start, but the team has never given up on each other or the coaches which would be the easy thing to do. We are young and inexperienced so we are learning in the moment. We have a lot of season left and we need to focus on the next practice."
• "Jess had a great match for us. It was great to see her and Peighton McRobie come alive. We need everyone to keep stepping up."

 
UP NEXT

• Colgate will head to Lafayette next Friday night before hosting four-time defending Patriot League Champion American Saturday.
• The Raiders face the Leopards at 7 p.m. Friday and take on the Eagles at 4 p.m. Saturday.