HAMILTON – The Colgate volleyball program closed out its home slate with a 3-0 sweep of Lehigh on Saturday afternoon. Behind Bridget Kolsky's 21 digs, Colgate earned a third-set comeback to improve to 13-1 in Patriot League action with two matches remaining in the regular season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The match opened with Lehigh gaining a 2-0 lead, but Colgate quickly came back with a 3-0 run to get back on top. The set continued to be a back-and-forth game as Lehigh's three straight points reclaimed the game at 7-6, before a kill by Alli Lowe tied it all up at 7s. A swift swing to center court by Hailey Horn-Bostel brought the game back to 12s, before the Raiders rallied for three straight capped by an ace by Cami Carfino at 15-14. Colgate gained a two-point edge, before Lehigh tied things back up at 17s yet again, before a block put Lehigh back on top by two at 19-17.

In the race to reach 20, Horn-Bostel answered with a kill for a three-point run but Lehigh won a long rally before notching a kill off the block for a 23-22 edge and a 3-0 of its own. Extra point play ensued as Taylor Flaherty sank a kill for a 25-24 edge before Colgate was able to close out the 26-24 opening set win.

A critical win in the match, the Raiders entered the second game with momentum to push through just as narrow of a set before they gained a two-point advantage behind a block by Flaherty and Sophie Thompson at 12-9. Although there was a similar point-for-point start, Colgate hit a 6-0 scoring run behind a kill by Julia Kurowski for a hefty 20-14 advantage midway through. As the Raiders hit set point Lehigh was able to claim a tally in a record of a rally to continue play, before Alex Stein sent a kill to the back line for a 25-18 victory.

Very different than the first two games, Lehigh came out of the gate looking to avoid the sweep and started with a 5-0 opening run. With the start, the Raiders faced an uphill battle, one in which they looked to chip back at one point at a time. Colgate recovered a point behind a successful challenge at 10-5, but Lehigh immediately responded with another 3-0 run.

A switch was flipped midway through, as Colgate began to capitalize on Lehigh errors and got back within one behind an Ashley Chow ace at 10-9. The Raiders finally reclaimed the lead at 11-10 with Stein's kill off the block, successfully recovering from a seven-point deficit in the set. For a three-point lead at 14-11, Colgate featured back-to-back kills by Jessica Lathan, followed by another powerful point to the back line for a 9-1 Raider run.

Lehigh was determined to push back as it rallied for a four-point run to narrow the score to 18-15, but Flaherty was there to right the ship for the Raiders with a kill to the back row to reach a 20-15 advantage. Yet again the Mountain Hawks answered to return to a one-point game at 22-21, before a block by Julia Kurowski and Horn-Bostel brought Colgate to set point.

The battle would continue as Lehigh answered with a trio of points at match point but Colgate would seal their second straight sweep with a 25-22 victory.
 
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• After surpassing 1,000 career digs last night, junior libero Bridget Kolsky responded with 21 against Lehigh. It marks the eighth time this season that Kolsky has recorded 20-plus digs.
• The Raiders completed their 2019 home slate with a 9-2 record on Cotterell Court, as well as an undefeated mark of 8-0 in Patriot League action in Hamilton.
• With tonight's win, the Raiders improve to 20-6 on the season, reaching 20 wins for the first time since 2013's 22-9 campaign.
• Leading the team offensively was junior outside hitter Alli Lowe with 11 kills while hitting .241.
• Freshman Sophie Thompson was effective at the net, posting three kills and a team-high of three total blocks.
• Colgate was successful at the back line as a trio of Raiders recorded service aces, including Alex Stein, Ashley Chow, and Cami Carfino.
• Currently on a four-match win streak, three of Colgate's last four wins have been in sweeps of its opponent.
 
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 3, Lehigh 0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-22)
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate now holds a 20-6 overall record, as well as a 13-1 mark in Patriot League play.
• Lehigh is 13-15 on the season, and 6-8 in conference action.
 
HEAD COACH RYAN BAKER'S TAKE
"It's a great weekend when you can go 3-0 in both matches against quality teams. Our seniors played like seniors the entire weekend which is what we need at this point. We have to continue and improve this week in practice as we have some tough road matches ahead of us."
 
UP NEXT
Next weekend the Raiders conclude the regular season at Navy and Bucknell. First serve is set for 7 p.m. on Friday in Annapolis, followed by 4 p.m. on Saturday in Lewisburg.
 
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate volleyball program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateVB and on Instagram at Colgate_VB.