CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – By sealing a perfect weekend at the Harvard Tournament, the Colgate volleyball program improves to a 5-1 start on the season.

The Raiders earned a 3-1 victory against host Harvard, before battling through a five-set win against Sacred Heart for a 3-0 record in the tournament. After its double-header, Alli Lowe holds a new career-high of 31 kills, while Kurowski posts five double-doubles through the season's six matches.

The Raiders are back in action with their home opener next weekend as they host the second annual Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament, starting on Colgate Day, Friday, Sept. 13.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – HARVARD
It was a slow back and forth start to the opening set, with the nonconference foes staying within points through the first 10 points. It was at a 15-12 marker that Colgate began to break ahead, but Harvard inched back to narrow the Raiders' lead to just two at 22-20. With back-to-back kills, senior Alex Stein brought the Raiders to set point, and sealed the game at 25-21 with a kill off the block.

Although the teams started out square against through a 6-6 score, Colgate streamed ahead to a 17-11 advantage. The lead was built with three-point runs at a time behind Colgate's clean attack in which they hit a season-high of .467 in the set. The Raiders' quick defense recovering the ball after Harvard blocks was crucial in their gain, until sophomore Hailey Horn-Bostel brought Colgate to set point with a kill to the right side. Up front, sophomore setter Julia Kurowski sent her sneak attack over the net for a 25-16 win and 2-0 advantage.

Heading into the third set with their eights on its second straight sweep, the Raiders pushed Harvard to call an early timeout as Colgate built a quick 7-3 lead. Colgate held as much as a six-point lead in the set before the Crimson came back within one at 14-13, eventually taking over its first lead since the opening set with a 15-14 advantage. Harvard's drastic 14-3 run had the Raiders facing a 21-16 deficit.

Although Harvard made a comeback in the game, Colgate was prepared to attempt one of its own. The Raiders went on a four-point run at Harvard's set point, with their outside block playing a huge part in helping fight off the Crimson win. Colgate's run was extended to five points as Kurowski tied the game at 24-24 with a service ace, but despite the Raiders' late looks at a comeback, Harvard redeemed the set with a 27-25 win in extra points to force a fourth set.

Yet another narrow start, the teams battled through a score that swayed side to side two points at a time. The largest Colgate lead of the game came at 13-10 heading into a Harvard timeout, but the Raiders were determined to close out the match and were fueled by quality defensive touches by senior Bridget Kolsky. An Alli Lowe ace extended Colgate's lead to 18-13, before the Raiders were brought to match point with a kill by senior Taylor Flaherty. Flaherty notched back-to-back kills for the match point a 25-19 victory.
 
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Behind 43 assists and a season-high of 14 digs, sophomore setter Julia Kurowski recorded her fifth straight double-double performance. At the back line Kurowski also tallied a pair of aces for her first multi-ace match of the year, after posting seven in her freshman season.
• Marking her third double-double in the season's first five matches was senior Alex Stein with 13 kills and 11 digs.
• Having a presence across the court, junior Alli Lowe marked a team-leading 17 kills, 6 digs, three total blocks, and two service aces. It marks the fourth time in the season's first five matches that Lowe has topped Colgate's total kills.
• In addition to leading the Raiders defensively with her 14 digs, junior Bridget Kolsky tallied an ace at a critical point in the match.
• Behind eight total blocks, sophomore Hailey Horn-Bostel set a new career-high and has become a defensive standout for the Raiders while also earning offensive action with five kills against Harvard.
• With 10 kills, senior Taylor Flaherty marked her second double-digit kill performance of the season.
• The Raiders had a clean match at the net, hitting a match-high of .467 in the opening set, and closing out the fourth while hitting .371. Overall, Colgate held a .252 advantage over Harvard's .183 attack percentage.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – SACRED HEART
Sacred Heart was the first to the quick start, gaining a 12-5 advantage off of a strong serving game. The Big Red powered ahead to a fast 25-16 first set win that the Raiders looked to respond to.

A much closer game, the Raiders found themselves in a back-and-forth battle in the second set. After holding a narrow lead at 7-5, Alli Lowe had to reclaim the lead for Colgate at 11-10 with back-to-back kills. A three-point run put Colgate ahead for a consistent lead through the remainder of the game before senior Gabby Benck launched the kill off the block for set point at 25-20.

Starting out the third game with an ace by Julia Kurowski set a pace for the Raiders, although a consistent spread between the teams remained. Another Colgate ace by Bridget Kolsky brought the Raiders within two at 20-18, but it wouldn't be until a block by Hailey Horn-Bostel tied the game up at 23s for the first time since an 8-8 score. Although Colgate inched back, the set would remain just out of reach as the Raiders faced a must-win fourth after falling in the 25-23 final.

Lowe fired up the offense with strong swings that built an early 8-3 lead for the Raiders in the fourth set. Really hitting its stride, the Colgate squad raged to a 15-8 edge midway through the set, where a number of Raiders had routinely found the floor. The dominant 25-15 win to force a fifth set was sealed with Taylor Flaherty's kill at the set point.

Thriving off of their fourth set momentum, the Raiders opened with a 3-1 lead, but found themselves all tied up at 3s, 4s, 5s, and still at 6s. Sacred Heart was not letting the match slip away even when Colgate finally gained a two-point advantage at 8-6 as the teams switched sides.

Returning to the floor, Alex Stein hit her groove at the net while Kolsky dived for the big digs in the back row. After yet another Colgate ace, this time by Kurowski, the Raiders held a steady 10-6 advantage. Colgate's game gelled together for a stretch that featured aces, rally-winning digs, and another hype-worthy block assist by Horn-Bostel and Lowe at 12-7. Making her swings count, Flaherty notched yet another match point with her eighth kill of the night to seal the 15-9 victory and five-set win.
 
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Fueling the Raiders offense was junior Alli Lowe's career-high of 31 kills while swinging at .407. It marks Lowe's third 20-plus kill performance of the season, and most since her 25 kills against Towson in the 2017 NIVC (Nov. 30, 2017).
• Sophomore setter Julia Kurowski was effective on all sides of the ball with 47 assists, nine digs, five total blocks, and two service aces.
• A powerhouse at the back line, sophomore Ashley Chow earned a career-high of three service aces on the Big Red in addition to her seven digs.
• Junior Bridget Kolsky continued her streak at the back line, posting service aces in all six matches this season. The libero also topped the team with 13 digs against Sacred Heart.
• With six blocks against the Big Red, sophomore Hailey Horn-Bostel posted a total 19 on the weekend. The middle blocker now tops the team with 30 total blocks on the season.
• The last time Colgate had a 5-1 start was in the 2017 campaign, one in which they went 9-3 through the four weeks of nonconference tournaments.
• Colgate swung for its second-best hitting percentage of the season at .307, powered by a .500 team attack in the first and fourth sets. The mark only trails a .308 earned against Marist (Aug. 31).
• The five-match win streak is Colgate's longest since winning six straight from Oct. 20-Nov. 5, 2017.
 
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 3, Harvard 1 (25-21, 25-16, 25-27, 25-19)
• Colgate 3, Sacred Heart 2 (16-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-15, 15-9)
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate improves to a 5-1 record after its first two tournaments.
• Harvard holds a 1-1 overall record.
• Sacred Heart drops to 2-4 in the 2019 campaign.
 
COACH BAKER'S TAKE
"I am so proud of this team. Our competitiveness and team play is fun to watch and coach. It was a total team effort.
 
"Alli Lowe was unbelievable in all aspects of the game. When she elevates like that, she's nearly unstoppable. Taylor Flaherty was consistent all weekend and provided great leadership at some key moments. 
 
"Julia Kurowski made some big time sets at key moments all weekend and our back row was steady.  We have more room for growth which is exciting."
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Alli Lowe - Colgate
Taylor Flaherty - Colgate
Sope Adeleye - Harvard
Sandra Zeng - Harvard
Sarah Ciszek - Sacred Heart
Annie Ell - Rhode Island

UP NEXT
The Raiders open the home slate next weekend as they host the second annual Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament. Starting on Colgate Day, Friday, Sept. 13, the Raiders welcome Quinnipiac, New Hampshire, and Rutgers for a six-match tournament across Sept. 13-14.
 
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate volleyball program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateVB and on Instagram at Colgate_VB.