HAMILTON – The Colgate volleyball program concluded play in the Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament with a doubleheader against Princeton and Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. Despite a 32-kill day by sophomore Alli Lowe, and double-doubles by junior Alex Stein and freshman Julia Kurowski, the Raiders fell to Princeton 3-0 and to the Lady Jacks 3-1.

The four-team, six-match tournament honored the late Ellis Rowland, an avid supporter of the program and founder of the Colgate Volleyball Senior Rowdy Raiders. To read more about Ellis' contributions and involvement with the program click HERE.
 
Colgate returns home to Cotterell Court when they welcome Lafayette on Sept. 28.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – 3-0 LOSS TO PRINCETON
The Raiders opened the match by gaining an early 11-7 lead with two big blocks and strong game by the outside hitters, but were then tested when the set became all tied up at 16s. Colgate's first service ace of the match came at prime time when Princeton couldn't return a serve by sophomore Bridget Kolsky. The ace put the Raiders on a three-point run and tied the game at 22-22. A narrow battle, the match remained tied at 23s, before Princeton inched ahead to claim the first set 25-23.

As the Raiders gained an 11-9 lead with a 3-0 run early in the second set, Princeton used its first timeout. The back-and-forth battle continued between the non-conference foes, but the Tigers gradually ticked ahead to take the second set 25-21. It was in the second game that sophomore Alli Lowe hit her third double-digit kill match through the season's five matches thus far.

Colgate fell back early in the third set at an 8-4 marker where they were forced to call a timeout. Compared to 11 tie scores and four lead changes in the opening set, the Third featured just two tie scores and lead changes each.  Three of Lowe's 13 kills on the night came in the battle of a third set, although Princeton sealed the match by a 25-15 score.
 
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Sophomore Alli Lowe earned a team-leading 13 kills while hitting .375. It marks the Kennett Square, Pa. native's third double-digit kill match of the season, after she tallied 23 in her freshman campaign.
• In the second set, freshman defensive specialist Ashley Chow earned her first career ace to narrow Princeton's lead at 23-21 in the game.
• With a team-leading 10 digs, sophomore Bridget Kolsky registered double-digit digs for the fourth time in the season's five matches.
• In marking one solo block and one block assist, junior Alex Stein had a hand in two of Colgate's 3.0 total blocks of Tiger attacks.
• With a team-leading 31 assists against Princeton, freshman Julia Kurowski has notched 30 or more assists in three of the season's five matches. A native of Lancaster, N.Y., Kurowski has made an immediate impact with the Raiders and was a starter for the fourth time this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED – 3-1 LOSS TO STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
The opening set of a heated rivalry was ignited with an early service ace by senior Peighton McRobie to tie the game at 2-2, although the narrow back-and-forth game led to the Raiders calling a timeout trailing 22-19. Although Colgate responded with another point, Stephen F. Austin was able to take the game 25-20.

The second set surged with momentum for the maroon and gray as the Raiders added 16 kills and 3.0 total blocks to their game. It began with McRobie's big dig that was followed up by Alex Stein and Alli Lowe for the kill to post a 4-0 Colgate scoring run at 4-2. The turning point set the tone for the set as Raiders earned a 7-0 scoring run up to 7-2 on the scoreboard, and an eventual 11-2 run as their lead increased to 11-4 over the Lady Jacks. The Colgate blocking squad was critical midway through the set as Stephen F. Austin pressured back, but McRobie's second ace of the game continued to power the Raiders as it increased Colgate's lead to 20-14. After sealing the set with Stein's ninth kill of the night, Colgate evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-19 win.

Stephen F. Austin responded quickly in the third set as they gained a 9-5 lead that went into a Colgate timeout. Lowe was there pull the momentum back onto the Raider side of the net as she tallied another kill immediately following. The Raiders persistence kept pushing when their 3-0 run by the offense forced Stephen F. Austin to call a timeout holding a narrow 21-19 lead, while another 4-0 run got Colgate to set point, before the Lady Jacks inched back to take the set in extra point action at 27-25.

A rocky fourth set led to Colgate calling a timeout trailing SFA 13-9 in the must-win game. Kills by Colgate then brought them within one point of SFA multiple times nearing the end of the set, and two eventual tie scores. The Raiders faced their longest rallies of the tournament and the digs were critical as the defense sacrificed with aggressive play to keep the ball in action. The Raiders continued to test the Lady Jacks by tallying back-to-back kills at match point to push SFA to call a timeout, but the Texans came back to claim the match with a 25-22 final.
 
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Junior Alex Stein marked her team-leading third double-double of the season by registering a career-high 19 kills and career-high 20 digs.
• Sophomore Alli Lowe tied her season-high of 19 kills while hitting .372 against the Lady Jacks, for her fourth double-digit kill match of the year. On the weekend, Lowe's 38 kills through three matches led the team, earning her a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
• Senior Peighton McRobie over doubled her service aces on the year as she earned a team-high of three against the Lady Jacks. With her multiple ace match, it marks the most in a night for the defensive specialist since tallying three against Lafayette on Nov. 12, 2017. Last season, McRobie led the Colgate squad with 28 total service aces and 0.27 aces per set on the year.
• For her second double-double in her career, freshman Julia Kurowski marked a career-high 49 assist performance paired with 12 digs. A well-rounded performance, the Lancaster, New York native also earned two service aces and career-high four block assists. The 49 assists surpassed her previous best of 45 vs. Chicago State (Aug. 24).
• In the libero position against the Lady Jacks, freshman Ashley Chow surpassed her previous best of 16 digs against Rutgers (Aug. 24) for a career high of 21 against SFA. It marked just the third 20+ dig performance of the season for the Colgate squad.
• On the night, five players marked double-digit digs, while four earned double-digit kills. It marks the most individuals with double-digit numbers in a match this season.
• Sophomore Bridget Kolsky cracked double-digits for the fifth time through the season's six matches with 13 on the night. On the season, the Pacific Palisades, Calif. native now posts a team-leading 3.70 digs per set.
• A force on both sides of the ball, senior Jaelah Hutchison marked 12 kills while hitting .267 in addition to earning a season-high of seven total blocks by two solos and five block assists.
  
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Princeton 3, Colgate 0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-15)
• Stephen F. Austin 3, Colgate 1 (25-20, 19-25, 27-25, 25-22)
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a mark of 2-4 on the year.
• Princeton remains undefeated with a 3-0 record this season.
• Stephen F. Austin improved to 4-2.
 
COACH BAKER'S TAKE
"It was great to see us compete in both our matches today.  We are really starting to figure things out against some great competition.  Princeton has won the Ivy League three years in a row and returned 90% of their lineup.  SFA won their conference last year and returned their whole lineup.  We are making steps in the right direction.  I'm a firm believer in playing against top competition early on so we are playing ore best once Patriot League play starts."  
 
"Our overall defensive intensity was steady throughout the matches and we started playing our style of volleyball.  We will practice hard this week and continue to grow.  League doesn't start for three weeks so we just need to stick to the process."
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• MVP: Devon Peterkin, Princeton
• Alexa Underwood, Princeton
• Caroline Sklaver, Princeton
• Abryanna Cannon, Northwestern
• Nia Robinson, Northwestern
• Alli Lowe, Colgate
• Sabrina Monaco, Stephen F. Austin

UP NEXT
The Raiders continue tournament play next weekend as they travel to College Park, Maryland for the Maryland Invitational. After opening play against the home team and Liberty on Saturday, Sept. 8, Colgate concludes the tournament against South Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 9.
 
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate volleyball program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateVB and on Instagram at Colgate_VB.