HAMILTON – The Colgate volleyball program earned its second consecutive sweep at home on Sunday afternoon as it downed Holy Cross in three quick sets. Behind the effort, the Raiders garnered eight service aces and forced 23 attacking errors from the Crusaders.
HOW IT HAPPENED – 3-0 WIN OVER HOLY CROSS
Holy Cross made it a back-and-forth game, and held a narrow 16-15 lead in the opening set before
Taylor Flaherty made it a one-point game with one of her two solo blocks on the night. Colgate was able to tie the game for the sixth time at 18-18, and a 5-0 scoring run powered the Raiders to regain the lead at 20-18 and claim the game 25-21.
By a six-point scoring run early in the second, the Raiders carried the momentum over for a quick 7-3 lead over the Crusaders. Although there was never a large point span, Colgate built a 17-11 lead by another offensive run of four points, before freshman
Julia Kurowski notched her career-making fifth service ace at 18-11. With its consistent play, Colgate strengthened their lead for a handed 25-14 final to gain a 2-0 lead in the match.
Colgate was full steam ahead in search of its second straight sweep in league action, and quickly built a 20-12 edge through just one tie score in the third set, and with the match point kill by freshman
Hailey Horn-Bostel, the Raiders earned the swift 3-0 win.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• At the line, freshman
Julia Kurowski set not just a new career-high in service aces, but she doubled her previous career-best of three vs. Northwestern (Aug. 31).
• The three sets featured eight service aces by the Colgate squad, just one shy of their season-best.
• Senior
Jaelah Hutchison's team-high of six total blocks are her most since against Bucknell (Sept. 29). With Hutchison's efforts, Colgate held a dominant hand of 10.0 total team blocks to Holy Cross' 3.0.
• Colgate consistently improved throughout the match, where after seeing four lead changes in the opening set, they sacrificed just one in the second and none to follow in the third.
• Defensively, Colgate was led by senior
Katie Stansbury's 13 digs for her seventh double-digit dig match of the year.
• The Raiders played a clean offensive game, that featured just eight attacking errors opposing Holy Cross' 23.
• The .337 Colgate hitting percentage is their second best on the year, only trailing a .394 attack percentage against Bucknell (Sept. 29). Additionally, the Raiders held Holy Cross to a .082 hitting percentage, including a negative -.028 in the second set.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 3, Holy Cross (25-21, 25-14, 25-16)
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate improves to 11-11 on the season, and holds a 6-4 record in Patriot League play.
• Holy Cross drops to 4-19 overall, with a 3-7 mark in league action.
COACH BAKER'S TAKE
"It was a weekend of perseverance. We've overcome illness and injury at the highest level and I couldn't be prouder."
"Our passing game got better with every ball, which allowed our offense to take off. It was a total team win and we need to build off it for the upcoming weekend."
UP NEXT
The Raiders continue Patriot League when they travel to Bucknell on Friday, Oct. 26, followed by Lafayette on Saturday, Oct. 27. Colgate returns home to Cotterell Court on Friday, Nov. 2 when they host the defending Patriot League Champion in American.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate volleyball program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateVB and on Instagram at Colgate_VB.
