HAMILTON – The Colgate volleyball program held strong in a narrow sweep of Army West Point on Saturday evening. After a strong first set, the Raiders defense held strong to claim their fifth three-set win of the year.
HOW IT HAPPENED – 3-0 WIN OVER ARMY WEST POINT
After a slow back-and-forth start, the Raiders 4-0 scoring run pushed Army to call an early timeout as Colgate led 9-4. The momentum continued to flow in favor of the maroon as Colgate came out of the timeout with an additional four points for an eight-point total run. When a big kill by
Alex Stein lifted the Raiders to a 20-10 lead over Army in the opening set, it pushed the Black Knights to call their second timeout with a major deficit. Although Army came out of the timeout with some momentum, the Raiders early charge was too much for them to recover from before Colgate finalized the set 25-17 for the 1-0 lead.
A much more challenging start to the second set, it wasn't until the 11-9 marker when the Raiders regained the lead with a 4-0 scoring run, a move that pushed Army to use another early timeout. In a set that featured a match-high of 11 tie scores and six lead changes, a turning point came when Army successfully challenged the call for their 20th point and before tying the game at 21-21. In the narrow set for a critical lead in the match, the Raider offense was fueled when
Amanda Smith's kill lifted them to a 22-21 lead. Colgate was then able to seal the second set in extra points by the swing of
Alli Lowe at 26-24 for her ninth kill of the match.
By tying the game at 5-5, the Raiders overcame a 4-0 deficit at the start of the third set. With a successful challenge to tie the game again at 8-8, Colgate powered ahead to a 13-11 lead that forced Army to use another early timeout. As the Raiders continued to roll ahead late in the set, Army chose to call their second timeout trailing 19-14 before responding with three quick points. In search of the sweep, Colgate's defense stepped up and claimed the match point with a block by the combination of
Jaelah Hutchison and
Amanda Smith for a 25-22 win.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• With the win, the Raiders snapped Army's two-match win streak. A critical match in the standings, Colgate's win places them fifth in the Patriot League standings, just one slot out of tournament play, while Army trails in sixth.
• Leading the Raiders five-ace performance was senior
Katie Stansbury, as she marked her third multiple-ace performance of the season, and second in the last three matches.
• By a team-leading 15 kills, junior
Alex Stein marked her 10th double-digit match of the season while hitting .438. A native of East Setauket, New York, Stein also led the Raiders with four total blocks on Colgate's six on the night. Additionally, Stein has now marked 15 or more kills five times on the season. • The Raiders swung for a .323 total team hitting percentage, its second-best on the year.
• Defensively, Colgate marked eight different players who tallied a dig, being led by junior
Hannah Cannon's season-high of nine.
• Rounding out the Raiders' offense was sophomore
Alli Lowe, as she marked her team-leading 12th double-digit kill match of the year with 13 successful swings. Lowe also led the team by hitting a season-best .579 percentage.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 3, Army 0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-22)
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate improves to 10-11 overall, and holds a 5-4 record in the Patriot League.
• Army drops to 9-14 on the season, with a 4-6 mark in league play.
COACH BAKER'S TAKE
"I was really happy with our effort tonight. Our passing and setting were very strong, which gave us some great swings."
"Army is a very good team and battled us all night. We have another important match tomorrow."
UP NEXT
The Raiders remain at home for continued Patriot League play tomorrow, as they host Holy Cross in a 2 p.m. first serve on Cotterell Court.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate volleyball program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateVB and on Instagram at Colgate_VB.
