HAMILTON – Holy Cross took the first set, but the Colgate volleyball team rallied to win the next three en route to a 3-1 win and season sweep of the Crusaders Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at Cotterell Court.
The win secures Colgate's fifth-straight victory as the Raiders have now won seven of their last eight matches. Junior
Katie Stansbury tallied her 10th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 22 digs to lead the way. First-year
Alli Lowe chipped in 14 kills, while junior
Jaelah Hutchison added 11 with a blistering .625 hitting percentage.
The Crusaders raced out to an early 9-1 lead in the opening set and Colgate was never able to recover. The Raiders narrowed the Holy Cross lead to two at 19-17 following a block from Lowe and senior
Noel Kennebeck, but the Crusaders held off the late charge to take the first set 25-21.
The Raiders used a 9-1 run to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 10-5 lead early on in the second set. The Raiders continued to roll as a kill from Stansbury helped Colgate stretch its lead to eight at 18-10. The Crusaders pulled back within four at 20-16, but the Raiders tallied five of the set's final six points to even the match at 1-1 with the 25-17 set-two win.
The third set started much like the second as the Raiders broke a 4-4 tie with a 6-1 run to pull ahead 10-5. The Crusaders stayed within five at 16-11 before a kill and back-to-back service aces from Stansbury put the Raiders up 19-11. Holy Cross wouldn't get closer than six the rest of the way as a Stansbury spike capped off the 25-17 set-three victory to give Colgate a 2-1 match advantage.
Colgate continued to cruise in the fourth set, racing out to an 11-3 advantage. The Crusaders chipped away and narrowed the Raider lead to three at 19-16, but a kill from Hutchison sparked a 6-2 Colgate run to close the set and secure the 25-18 victory and 3-1 match win.
BOTTOM LINE
- Colgate 3, Holy Cross 1 (21-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-18)
WON-LOST RECORDS
- The Raiders improve to 16-9 on the season and 7-6 in the Patriot League.
- Holy Cross falls to 4-23 overall and 1-13 in the league.
KEY RAIDER INFO
- Seniors Lauren Sanderson, Claudia Pena and Noel Kennebeck all started the Senior Day match. The three Raiders have led Colgate to 61 wins and 39 Patriot League victories so far in their careers.
- Sanderson dished a team-best 43 assists to go along with eight digs, four total blocks and three kills.
- Kennebeck tallied two kills, while Pena stuffed two blocks.
- Hutchison tallied 11 kills and just one error in 16 total attempts to tally her impressive .625 hitting percentage.
- Stansbury's 13 kills were accompanied by a strong .393 attack percentage.
FACTS & FIGURES
- Colgate finished the match with a .265 hitting percentage.
- The Raiders held Holy Cross to a clip of .129.
- Colgate held a 9-7 team block edge and 57-52 dig lead.
UP NEXT
- Colgate remains home Sunday for a key Patriot League battle with second-place Army West Point.
- First serve is set for 2 p.m. from Cotterell Court.
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