BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Colgate volleyball program earned a 3-0 sweep of Lehigh on Friday evening behind a pair of double-doubles by
Alex Stein and
Julia Kurowski. In the three-set win,
Katie Stansbury also tallied a career-high 29 digs to surpass 1,000 in her career.
HOW IT HAPPENED – 3-0 WIN OVER LEHIGH
The Raiders were strong right out the gate and went on a run midway through the opening set for a quick 15-11 lead. Colgate was able to earn the 25-22 win with a kill by
Jaelah Hutchison, and roll the momentum into the second for a 5-1 start. The Raiders didn't sacrifice any lead changes in the second on their way to an eventual 25-19 win. Similar to the first two sets, the Raiders powered ahead to a 10-5 lead, and earned the sweep with an eventual 25-18 final.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• With a career-high 29 dig performance, senior
Katie Stansbury surpassed 1,000 career digs, now looking to join the Colgate volleyball record book by hitting 1,030. She currently tallies 1,022 in her time with the Raiders.
• Posting her eighth double-double of the season, junior
Alex Stein marked her third-most digs of the season by 19, paired with 10 kills on the night. The outside hitter also marked two of the Raiders four service aces for her seventh multi-ace match of the year.
• By 39 assists and 12 digs, freshman
Julia Kurowski notched her team-leading 10th double-double of the season. It is the Lancaster, New York native's fourth in the last five matches and third consecutive double-double performance.
• Colgate was led offensively by junior
Taylor Flaherty's 11 kills. The marker is a season-high for the Austin, Texas native, and is her second consecutive double-digit kill match.
• Two of Colgate's four service aces came by the swing of freshman
Ashley Chow. It marks her third career multi-ace game and second consecutive two-ace performance.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 3, Lehigh 0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-18)
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate improves to 14-13 overall, and 9-6 in Patriot League play.
• Lehigh completes the regular season by a 20-8 mark, and a 9-7 conference record.
COACH BAKER'S TAKE
"I am extremely proud of our effort and execution tonight. Lehigh is a really good team who just came off a win against American so we knew we had to play hard from start to finish."
"
Taylor Flaherty and
Jaelah Hutchison both had a big night for us and
Katie Stansbury was great backrow. It's incredible she has had 1,000 digs. She was a six rotation player for three years, so that number is much tougher to attain."
"We need to recover and get ready for a very good Loyola team."
UP NEXT
The Raiders conclude the regular season on Sunday, when they host Loyola in a 2 p.m. first serve. The match will be critical in the Raiders race for postseason play, while there will be a t-shirt giveaway for the first 50 fans.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate volleyball program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateVB and on Instagram at Colgate_VB.
