WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Colgate volleyball program earned their first Patriot League victory of the season when they swept Army West Point on the road Saturday afternoon. Colgate overcame a three-point deficit late in the third set with a five-point run, sealing the 3-0 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED – 3-0 WIN AT ARMY WEST POINT
The match was kick-started by the Raiders when they leapt to a 5-1 lead in the opening set, before the efforts were built upon when Colgate hit a steady 6-0 run for a 15-11 lead midway through. With some successful swings at the line, the Raiders hit multiple aces on their way to a 25-19 win in the first set.
The momentum carried over when the team came out hitting .300 in first half of the second set on their way to an 11-3 lead. With sophomore
Alli Lowe leading the way on offense with six kills midway through the second set, the Raiders powered their way to an eventual 25-12 victory.
In a match that only had two lead changes through the first two sets, the pair of conference foes then battled through 11 tie scores and five lead changes through a narrow third. The Raiders found themselves down 16-13 midway through the third, and again trailed 23-20, before going on a five-point run to take the match 25-23 for the sweep.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Freshman
Julia Kurowski notched her third double-double of the season, and first since Sept. 1 by a team-leading 24 assists and a career-high 13 digs. An all-around performance, Kurowski also marked a three block assists on the Raiders 8.0 total team blocks.
• In addition to Kurowski, three different Raiders recorded double-digit digs in sophomore
Bridget Kolsky (12), junior
Alex Stein (11), and senior
Katie Stansbury (10).
• A consistent presence at the net, sophomore
Alli Lowe registered her team-leading eighth double-digit kill match of the season with a team-high of 11 kills against Army.
• On the night, the Raiders hit five service aces, including a pair from junior
Taylor Flaherty. It marks the Austin, Texas native's second multiple ace match of the season, after she registered two at Maryland (Sept. 8).
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 3, Army West Point 0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-23)
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate improves to 1-1 in Patriot League play, as well as 6-8 on the season.
• Army starts league play 0-1, and holds a 5-9 record on the year.
COACH BAKER'S TAKE
"I was extremely happy with how we responded after last night. Army is one of the toughest opponents in their gym so this was a very meaningful win."
"This was a total team win and they earned it.
Taylor Flaherty and
Katie Stansbury were huge players for us."
UP NEXT
After three weeks on the road, the Colgate volleyball program now returns back to Cotterell Court next weekend. The Raiders host Lafayette on Friday, Sept. 28 in a 7 p.m. first serve, followed by Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 5 p.m. for continued Patriot League action. Saturday's match is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Day, benefitting local 3-year-old Ella Ryan. More information on Colgate's "Ella Strong" game will be available on Monday afternoon.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate volleyball program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateVB and on Instagram at Colgate_VB.
