HAMILTON – The Colgate volleyball program improves to an undefeated 3-0 start in Patriot League action with its sweep of Holy Cross on Thursday evening. In the match, the Raiders held the Crusaders to just 13 points in each of the first two sets, while Alex Stein notched her eighth double-double of the season. 

Photo Gallery

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Raiders opened with a 9-2 run for Holy Cross to call an early timeout in the match, but Colgate continued onwards to increase its lead to 16-4 with a kill by Sophie Thompson. Although Holy Cross came out of the timeout with a 4-1 run, it was Cami Carfino who sunk an ace to continue Colgate's offensive reign. As Thompson notched another kill, the Raiders were brought to set point, before closing out the dominant set with at 25-13.

The second set was a flurry of forceful offense for the Raiders as a trio of service aces by Julia Kurowski right in a row brought the Raiders back to a similar 9-3 lead. Colgate continued to run ahead as a block by Taylor Flaherty boosted the defensive game at the net before the Raiders earned a 15-9 edge behind a 3-0 run heading into a Holy Cross timeout. Another scoring run flowed for the Raiders as Alex Stein nailed a kill to center court for a four-point scoring streak at 20-11, before the play was followed up with a Thompson kill to the right side for five straight points. Freshman Athena Leota made a quick impact in the match as her soft touch to center court brought Colgate to set point, before the Raiders closed out their second straight 25-13 win.

Holy Cross opened with the strong start as it looked to force extra play. Although the Raiders trailed early, they hopped on a 5-0 run behind another Carfino ace that tied the game at 15-15. After regaining the lead a point later, a kill by Hailey Horn-Bostel lifted the Raiders to their first two-point advantage of the set at a narrow 17-15. The fight wasn't over as Holy Cross struck a streak of their own to take the lead back at 19-18, before Colgate was forced to tie the game yet again with Stein's kill off the block at 20s. It was behind back-to-back kills by senior Jessica Lathan that the Raiders were brought to match point, as Stein sealed the 5-1 scoring run for the sweep of Holy Cross.
 
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• With her three service aces in the second set, sophomore setter Julia Kurowski notched a new season-high and her most since her career-high of six against Holy Cross last season (Oct. 21, 2018). Kurowski also had a strong performance at the net with four total blocks.
• Behind 12 kills and 10 digs, senior Alex Stein earned her eighth double-double of the season.
• Leading the team defensively was junior libero Bridget Kolsky with 15 digs, earning her 13th double-digit dig performance in the season's 15 matches.
• Another big back row performance came from freshman Cami Carfino as she notched her third doubled-digit dig performance in the last four matches. Carfino also earned two of Colgate's six service aces at the back line.
• Another consistent game came from sophomore Hailey Horn-Bostel as she earned seven kills while hitting .333 with a team-high of five total blocks.
• Behind a .217 team hitting percentage, Colgate hit its most consistent game since hitting a .325 team attack percentage against Quinnipiac (Nov. 13).
• Colgate held its opponent to a negative hitting percentage for the first time this season, and for the first time since facing Siena on Aug. 26, 2017.
• Colgate is off to its first 3-0 start in Patriot League play since the 2013 campaign.
 
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 3, Holy Cross 0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-21)
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate improves to a 10-5 overall record, with a 3-0 start in Patriot League play.
• Holy Cross marks a 3-14 record, and is 0-3 in conference action.
 
HEAD COACH RYAN BAKER'S TAKE
"Overall, I was very pleased with our effort tonight.  Our block and cover were the difference makers against a scrappy Holy Cross team. 
 
"We have another big match on Sunday against a very good Army team."
 
UP NEXT
The Raiders return to the road action on Sunday, Oct. 6 as they travel to West Point, New York. Colgate takes on Patriot League foe Army in a 1 p.m. first serve.
 
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate volleyball program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateVB and on Instagram at Colgate_VB.