HAMILTON – The Colgate volleyball program closed out the second annual Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament at Cotterell Court on Saturday with action against New Hampshire and Rutgers. The Raiders fell in a 3-1 final to the Wildcats, followed by a 3-0 result against Rutgers in the nonconference play.

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Colgate's back in action Sept. 20-21 at the Carolina Classic against North Carolina, Radford, and VCU.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – NEW HAMPSHIRE
The pair of nonconference foes went point-for-point through 7-7, but a New Hampshire block put the Wildcats on a three-point run for a 12-8 lead heading into a Colgate timeout. It was with a sneak over the tape by freshman Sophie Thompson that put the Raiders within one at 16-17, before senior Alex Stein tied the game at 19s with an ace.

Colgate was able to regain the lead at 20-19 but had to tie the game up yet again at 22s behind a defining dig by junior Bridget Kolsky and sophomore Julia Kurowski that kept the ball in play for Flaherty to launch the kill. New Hampshire continued to battle back and Colgate forced extra points with a block by sophomore Hailey Horn-Bostel and junior Alli Lowe at 24s, but the Wildcats were ultimately able to claim the opening set 26-24.

Colgate came out with offensive power in the second set, when a decisive kill to center court by Horn-Bostel put the Raiders on a three-point run for a 9-5 advantage. After three straight Colgate kills by senior Taylor Flaherty, Colgate gained a 15-11 edge midway through the set, before New Hampshire began to inch back and eventually close the gap by tying the game at 18s. Denying New Hampshire's advanced, Horn-Bostel made a solo block at the net to increase Colgate's lead to 20-18 in the tying set, but after five set points and a 3-0 scoring run, UNH was able to close out the comeback to gain a 2-0 edge in the match.

The Raiders faced a quick 5-1 deficit in the third set, but winning the long rallies allowed Colgate to inch back before sophomore Ashley Chow tied the game at 8-8 with a service ace. After regaining the lead at 9-8, Colgate went on a three-point run behind an Alex Stein kill to the back corner to increase the score at 15-12. After another extensive rally, freshman Taylor Davis earned a hard-fought kill to extend another four-point run for the Raiders and a 21-14 edge. The Raiders would go on to force a fourth set behind a 25-18 victory.

In another fast start by the Wildcats, New Hampshire gained a 5-0 edge behind back-to-back aces. Colgate was able to respond with runs of their own as momentum swung side to side across the court, where Kurowski downed a kill for a four-point run heading into an early UNH timeout. Although the Raiders came within two points at 11-9, New Hampshire powered ahead to a 25-16 victory for a 3-1 win in Colgate's opening match of the day.
 
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Behind 14 kills and 15 digs, senior Alex Stein earned her fourth double-double of the season. By tacking on a pair of aces, Stein also recorded her second multi-ace match of the year.
• Earning her team-leading sixth double-double in the season's eight matches was sophomore setter Julia Kurowski. By pairing a career-high 20 digs with 34 assists, Kurowski eclipsed her previous career-best of 15 digs at Bucknell last season (Oct. 26, 2018).
• In addition to notching a near double-double with nine assists and nine digs, junior libero Bridget Kolsky marked a service ace. Kolsky now holds aces in every match this season.
• Sophomore Ashley Chow set a new season-high of 18 digs, surpassing her 12 against Alabama in the season opener (Aug. 31). Chow also recorded her second multi-ace match of the season by scoring a pair of the Wildcats.
• Leading the team offensively was junior Alli Lowe with 18 kills. Lowe added eight digs and two blocks to her performance.
• Also of note, freshman Taylor Davis earned a solid .333 hitting percentage while tallying a season-high of six kills. Davis also jumped for two solo blocks and one block assist for a season-high of three total blocks.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – RUTGERS
Colgate's second match of the day against Rutgers started out point-for-point through an 8-8 score, but the Scarlet Knights gained a 13-8 edge midway through with a five-point run. The Raiders were able to break up the run by back-to-back kills by Alli Lowe, but another 6-0 Rutgers run stretched the visitor's lead to 19-11. Although the Raiders closed the gap with kills by Alex Stein, Sophie Thompson, and Taylor Flaherty, Rutgers rolled onward to a 25-17 win.

The second set started out all in favor of the Raiders as they gained a 4-0 start behind a pair of aces by Bridget Kolsky. It was a very different set from the first, featuring Colgate defense at the net that led to a 7-1 edge over the Big Ten foe behind a block combined of Sophie Thompson and Alex Stein. One of four aces in the second set, freshman Anne Martinson's first ace in her career pushed Rutgers to call a timeout as the Raiders led 10-3, but the Scarlet Knights narrowed the lead to just two at 13-11. Although Rutgers reclaimed the lead at 15-14, Taylor Flaherty was loaded at the net with a kill to the right side to tie the game at 19s. After Lowe was forced to tie the game yet again at 20-20, a 5-0 run sealed the game for Rutgers at 25-20.

Fans at Cotterell Court saw another lopsided start, but this time is was Rutgers who ran to a 7-1 lead of their own. As a three-point scoring run was capped by another kill by Lowe, the Raiders were able to narrow Rutgers' lead to 14-9 midway through the set. A sneak attack over the net by the Rutgers setter put the Scarlet Knights on a four-point run, for a 20-10 lead, before the Raiders fell in an eventual 25-12 final.
 
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Alli Lowe led the squad for the second straight match with 11 total kills against the Big Ten foe.
• Earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team was senior Taylor Flaherty, as she marked six kills while hitting .250 in the Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament finale.
• Freshman Sophie Thompson made an impact at the net with five kills while swinging .200 and jumped for two blocks.
• Having strong play in the back row, junior Bridget Kolsky tied her season-best of three service aces at the back line, and got under the ball for 10 digs. The libero has marked double-digit digs in eight of the season's nine matches.
• Fellow freshman Anne Martinson earned her first career ace against Rutgers, and earned four assists through the three sets.
 
THE BOTTOM LINE
• New Hampshire 3, Colgate 1 (26-24, 27-25, 18-25, 25-16)
• Rutgers 3, Colgate 0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-12)
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate now holds a 6-3 record on the year.
• New Hampshire is off to an 8-3 mark.
• Rutgers improves to 6-3 overall record.
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Jasmine Stackhouse, Rutgers
Inna Balyko, Rutgers
Abby Sullivan, New Hampshire
Hannah Petke, New Hampshire
Taylor Flaherty, Colgate
Aryanah Diaz, Quinnipiac


UP NEXT
The Raiders concluded nonconference tournament action at the Carolina Classic next weekend, Sept. 20-21. Colgate opens with play against Radford on Friday, followed by North Carolina and VCU on Saturday.
 
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate volleyball program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateVB and on Instagram at Colgate_VB.