ALBANY, N.Y. – The Colgate Volleyball team picked up a hard-fought 3-1 win over Albany before falling to a tough St. John's team in the Albany Invitational finale Saturday afternoon.
The Raiders' win over Albany secured a 5-0 start to the season, which was the best since the 1991 Raiders started 12-0. Junior
Amanda Smith led the Raiders for the day with 24 kills and a .315 hitting percentage. Senior
Lauren Sanderson dished out 80 assists in the two matches combined, while also registering 16 digs.
Juniors
Katie Stansbury and
Jaelah Hutchison were both named to the All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED – ALBANY
The Raiders got out to a quick 10-4 lead in the opening set against the Great Danes. Albany was within four at 13-9, but it would be as close as the Great Danes would get the rest of the way. The Raiders led by as much as 10 at 24-14 before a kill from Stansbury secured the 25-17 set-one win.
The second set began tightly contested, tied 11 times before it reached a 14-14 draw. Kills from Hutchison, first-year
Alli Lowe and sophomore
Taylor Flaherty helped Colgate put together a 5-1 run that gave the Raiders the separation they'd need at 19-15. An Albany service error served as the final point of the set as Colgate held on for the 25-19 victory to take a 2-0 match advantage.
The Raiders picked up where they left off in the third set, getting out to a fast 8-2 start. This time the Greyhounds rallied as Albany rattled off eight unanswered points to pull in front 9-8. The Greyhounds were ahead by as much as five at 18-13, but Colgate fought back with a 9-2 run to jump ahead 22-20. Albany was able to score the final five points of the term, however, to claim a 25-22 set-three win.
The fourth set saw seven lead changes and 11 tied scores until the Raiders used four-straight points to turn an 18-16 deficit into a 20-18 advantage. After Albany scored the next point, three Hutchison kills and a Stansbury spike allowed Colgate to record the final five points of the set to clinch the 25-19 victory and 3-1 match win.
HOW IT HAPPENED – ST. JOHN'S
The Red Storm held a 19-17 lead in the opening set, but a pair of kills from Lowe and three-straight spikes from Stansbury allowed Colgate to rally for a 23-21 edge and force a St. John's timeout. The Red Storm tied it at 23 and the score was then knotted at every point until a 30-30 draw. St. John's then used a kill and a block to take the first set 32-30 and claim a 1-0 match advantage.
The second set was just as close as neither team led by more than three at any point. Colgate held a slim 22-21 advantage in the back-and-forth battle, but the Red Storm scored the final four points of the stanza to capture the 25-22 win and take a 2-0 match lead.
The third set began in a 10-10 tie, but St. John's rattled off an 11-2 run to pull ahead 21-12. Colgate was never able to recover as the Red Storm clinched their 3-0 match victory with a 25-14 set win.
BOTTOM LINE
- Colgate 3, Albany 1 (25-17, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19)
- St. John's 3, Colgate 0 (30-32, 22-25, 14-25)
WON-LOST RECORDS
- Colgate moves to 5-1 on the season with Saturday's results.
- St. John's improved to 5-2 overall.
- Albany fell to 0-5 on the season with the loss.
KEY RAIDER INFO
- Smith tallied a career-high 14 kills in Colgate's 3-1 win over Albany before adding 10 against the Red Storm.
- Flaherty hit an impressive .438 with nine kills against the Great Danes.
- Stansbury finished the day with 19 kills, while Lowe followed with 18.
- Peighton McRobie registered a team-best 29 digs in the two matches.
- Hutchison and Flaherty stuffed four total blocks apiece.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach
Ryan Baker
- "While it was a disappointing way to end, we played some great volleyball over the weekend. Fatigue definitely set in during our match versus St. John's and we made some mental errors."
- "Our match against Albany was a battle. Both teams were gutsy and we battled and found a way to win."
- "We are 5-1 and a work in progress. There are a lot of good things happening, but we need to get back to work. The Texas trip will be another weekend of good competition."
UP NEXT
- The Raiders remain on the road for another tournament next weekend when Colgate heads to Nacogdoches, Texas for the Stephen F. Austin Tournament.
- Colgate will face Tulsa and Arkansas-Little Rock Friday before taking on host Stephen F. Austin Saturday.
- The Raiders have three rostered players who hail from the state of Texas.
