HAMILTON – Sometimes, an early taste of success can be fool's gold. As in, there we go! Let's chalk up another easy victory!
 
But Colgate's one-sided opening set win here Friday night against Holy Cross was not a foreshadow of things to come, and the Raiders needed four tough sets to finally subdue the Crusaders by a 3-1 count. The Raiders prevailed 25-15, 22-25, 31-29, 25-22.
 
Colgate with the victory at Cotterell Court improved to 4-1, winners of three in a row. Holy Cross (2-1) lost its first match of the spring season after sweeping Lafayette last weekend.
 
How It Happened
Set 1: The opener was tight for the first 16 points, with seven ties and five lead changes resulting in an 8-8 score line. But junior Ellen Hamlin aced the next serve and the Raiders went on a roll, scoring seven in a row capped by Libby Overmyer's kill for a 15-8 lead. Colgate led 20-10 on Alli Lowe's kill before Holy Cross answered with four in a row. Raiders head coach Ryan Baker called timeout and it worked, as the home side closed it out on a 5-1 run capped by Harper Snyder's second kill of the set in a 25-15 finish.

Set 2: Colgate then scored the opening point of the second set – here we go, right? Wrong! Holy Cross answered with six straight points – Colgate contributed a service error and three attack errors – to put the Raiders on their heels. Lowe's kill closed the margin to 9-7 but Holy Cross responded by winning nine of the next 10 points for a 16-8 advantage. Lowe's kill and then ensuing service ace gave Colgate hope down 23-21, but the senior-laden Crusaders would not fold and closed out the set at 25-22.


 
Set 3: Colgate in the third set posted a hitting percentage of .345, with Holy Cross right behind at .327. No wonder this one went into the 30s with 17 ties and eight lead changes before the Raiders gutted it out. Colgate broke on top 5-1 and led throughout until the Crusaders inched ahead at the worst possible time, 24-23, on a kill by Johnny Shamley and Clare Honan's service ace. Colgate faced additional set points at 25-24, 26-25, 27-26, 28-27 and 29-28 – fighting off every one. Finally, Hailey Horn-Bostel registered the kill to tie it at 29-all, Lowe followed with a kill and then Shamley committed the error at the net. The Crusaders challenged it but the call stood and Colgate prevailed 31-29.
 
Set 4: Holy Cross showed no signs of dejection, scoring the first three points. But the Raiders regrouped and moved in front for the first time at 8-6 thanks to consecutive Crusader errors. The set was tied five times between 9-9 and 14-14 before Colgate finally eased ahead. Lowe and Snyder posted kills to make it a 17-14 Raiders lead, and it was Lowe again for 21-18. Overmyer's kill made it a 23-20 cushion and the Raiders were close. After Holy Cross won the next two points, the Crusaders committed a killer serving error and then Lowe finished it off with her 28th kill of the match for 25-22.


 
Statistical Standouts
• Lowe hit at a .365 clip and also led the Raiders with three service aces.
• Her 28 kills were a season-high and just three shy of her career best. With the performance, Lowe moves into fourth all-time in program history behind her 1,267 career kills.
• Kurowski's 53 assists matches her two-time career-high, while she added 15 digs for her third double-double in the season's five matches.
• Defensively, Kolsky led the squad with 22 digs for the team's first 20-plus dig performance of the season. 
• Colgate finished with a season-high of nine aces and nine service errors. Five of those errors came in the Set 2 loss.
• Overmyer added 10 kills and Snyder nine.
• The Raiders posted six team blocks to three for Holy Cross.
• Holy Cross had as many as five seniors on the floor at one time.
• Their leaders were Shamley with 16 kills and Rachel Harding with 15.
 
Head Coach Ryan Baker's Take
(On the win) "I was very happy with our grit against an experienced and extremely tough Holy Cross team. We had some great contributions off the sideline and our seniors were clutch in the last two sets.
 
"It'll be another very tough match at their place. I look forward to watching some fil and seeing what adjustments we need to make."


 
Up Next
• Colgate and Holy Cross wrap their two-game series Sunday in Worcester. First serve is at 4 p.m., with ESPN+ carrying the livestream.
 
Follow the Raiders
For more information on the Colgate volleyball program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateVB and on Instagram at Colgate_VB.