BERKELEY, Calif. – The Colgate volleyball program opened the 2018 season with a pair of historic wins as the Raiders downed Rutgers 3-1 in the opening match of the Cal Tournament. The victory marked the first win over a Big Ten program since 1991, and was followed up with a five-set battle against Chicago State for a 3-2 victory.
 
Colgate opened the season 2-0 with its success in the doubleheader, while junior Alex Stein tallied back-to-back double-doubles and sophomore Alli Lowe notched a team-leading 32 kills.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – 3-1 WIN OVER RUTGERS
In the initial set of the 2018 campaign, the Colgate squad found themselves in a back-and-forth game that resulted in extra points until the Raiders were able to force an error and close out the set with a win. The testing competition of the Big Ten opponent persisted as long rallies peppered the second set, although a 7-1 scoring run for the Raiders at the 18-18 tying mark ultimately decided the second game in favor of the Raiders as Stein notched her fourth kill of the afternoon at set point.
 
In a slower-paced third set, a 5-0 run for Colgate proved crucial as the Raiders regained the lead at 9-8 and there throughout the game. With the momentum rolling in favor of the Raiders, senior Peighton McRobie's first ace of the season put Colgate on a four-point run at a 17-14 marker in the third. Despite a couple of big runs and momentum swing for the maroon, Rutgers narrowly claimed the third set by two. In a match that featured 36 tie scores and 17 lead changes, the fourth set was just as narrow before the Raiders sealed the season opener with a W at 25-23 for a 3-1 victory.
 
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Opening the season twice as nice was junior outside hitter Alex Stein as she registered 12 kills and 10 digs for the first double-double of the season. In addition to her double-digit stats, the East Setauket, N.Y. native marked one ace, two blocks and a .211 hitting percentage.
• After tallying 17 double-digit dig matches in her debut season in 2017, sophomore Bridget Kolsky returned with 17 digs against Rutgers to open the 2018 campaign.
• Three players from the Colgate squad registered double-digit digs and two players posted 10-plus kills.
• Freshman Julia Kurowski was the lone first-year starter for the Raiders in the season opener, and tallied two kills, 32 assists, nine digs and one block in her collegiate debut.
• A pair of aces came from senior Katie Stansbury, which marked the most for the Strongsville, Ohio native since a career-high of three against Holy Cross (Nov. 4, 2017).
• After posting 23 double-digit kill matches in her freshman season, sophomore Lowe returned with a 13 kill performance against Rutgers.
• In her collegiate debut, freshman defensive specialist Ashley Chow tallied the second-most digs of the Raiders with 16.
• The win marked Colgate's first win over a Big Ten program since a 3-0 sweep of Rutgers in 1991.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – 3-2 WIN OVER CHICAGO STATE
After narrowly dropping the opening set by two, the Raiders rebounded quickly in the second when they barreled through a 5-0 scoring run after opening the second set down 6-1. The Raiders didn't let up and continued to lead outright through the remainder of the set. A decisive kill by senior Amanda Smith capped it off to tie the match at 1-1.
 
The most dominant performance of the night came when the Raiders forced a fifth set by going on a 9-0 run to close out the fourth. In the game, Colgate didn't sacrifice any tie scores or lead changes on its way to an eventual 25-15 victory. After trailing Chicago State 8-6 at the court flip midway through the fifth set, the Raiders went on a three-point run to force a Cougar timeout at an 11-10 Colgate lead. Match point was then sealed with Lowe's team-leading 19th kill of the night.
 
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• By leading the Raiders against both Rutgers and Chicago State with 13 and 19 kills, respectively, Lowe marked two consecutive double-digit kill performances to kick off the season. Additionally, with her 32 total kills, the Kennett Square, Pa. native posted a .284 hitting percentage.
• Stein earned her second double-double of the day with a 15-kill and 11-dig match against Chicago State. In addition to her double-digit numbers, Stein tallied four total blocks and one service ace. With the pair of double-doubles, it marked Stein's most since earning three in her freshman season and most since joining the Colgate program in her sophomore campaign.
• A well-rounded defensive group, five different players tallied double-digit digs for the Raiders against Chicago State. Additionally, the 11.0 total team blocks marks the most since 12.0 versus Bucknell on Oct. 20, 2017.
• Double-digit numbers appeared twice on the day for Kolsky when she followed up her 17 against Rutgers with a team-leading 24 against Chicago State.
• A defensive force for the Raiders, senior Jaelah Hutchison notched six total blocks, the most for the Chicago, Illinois native since earning eight on Sept. 30, 2017 versus Loyola. Additionally, Hutchison marked 14 kills and seven digs.
 
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 3, Rutgers 1 (27-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23)
• Colgate 3, Chicago State 2 (23-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-15, 15-12)
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate opens the 2018 season 2-0.
• Rutgers dropped to 0-1.
• Chicago State sits with a 0-2 record.
 
COACH BAKER'S TAKE
"What a great trip this has been for our team. This west coast trip has allowed us to bond and figure out what it takes to be consistent and compete at a high level. To be 2-0 at this point is great, especially against both Big Ten and WAC programs. We love competing."
 
"We had two very different matches and were able to grind and respond at the right time. We are learning a lot at a very fast pace. It has been total team ball and everyone is fulfilling their roles!"
 
UP NEXT
The Raiders round out the Cal Molten Classic tomorrow afternoon, when it faces host-school California at 1:30 p.m. pacific / 4:30 p.m. eastern. The Cal Bears are coming off of a 3-0 sweep of Chicago State this afternoon.
 
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate volleyball program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateVB and on Instagram at Colgate_VB.