HAMILTON – One week removed from its first and only league loss of the season at Navy, Colgate bounced back to beat the Midshipmen, 3-1, Saturday afternoon at Cotterell Court to take sole possession of first place in the Patriot League standings.
The Raiders got a standout performance from
Gillian Hauschild, who owned a .647 hitting percentage and led the team with 12 kills.
Abby Shadwick and
Sophie Thompson were also in double-figure kills with 10 apiece, while
Taylor Cigna defensively tallied 15 digs.
Sydney Jones (22) and
Julia Kurowski (20) led Colgate in assists. Colgate hit .383 and held Navy to .228.
Set 1: Colgate 25, Navy 16
Colgate built a 12-8 lead on the heels of a 5-0 surge, capped off by a kill from
Harper Snyder. The teams went back and forth for most of the opening frame and a kill by Navy's Katie Jackowski cut the margin to 17-14 in favor of Colgate. The Raiders found another gear down the stretch and Shadwick's kill finished off a 5-1 run to close out the first set, 25-16.
Set 2: Navy 26, Colgate 24
Colgate didn't lead the second set until a 7-2 surge gave the Raiders a late two-point advantage. A block at the top of the tape and a kill from the near side by Hauschild handed Colgate an 18-16 advantage. Navy countered with three consecutive points and led 22-21 after a pair of kills from Jamie Llewellyn. The teams rallied into the bonus and traded points until the Mids put it away with a kill by Jackowski to take the second set, 26-24.
Set 3: Colgate 25, Navy 20
Offense and defense carried the Raiders in the third set. Snyder had a pair of blocks, and kills from Shadwick and Hauschild helped the Raiders double up Navy, 19-8, late in the frame. The Mids found their rhythm, however, and climbed all the way back to 22-19 on the strength of a 7-1 spurt. Colgate called a timeout and it paid dividends, as the Raiders finished off the set with three of the last four points. A slam dunk by Thompson sealed the stanza, 25-20.
Set 4: Colgate 25, Navy 22
Colgate scored three consecutive points to build a 12-7 lead after back-to-back Navy errors. The Raiders kept their distance with a five-point lead, 17-12, but Navy battled back once again with a 5-1 stretch. Colgate's lead trimmed to 23-22, but the Raiders scored the final two points. Thompson and Hauschild teamed up for a block to seal the victory, 25-22.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Ryan Baker
"We had a great week of training. With back-to-back matches against Navy, we knew we had to fix some things. Navy is a really good team – they showed up again tonight. They played intense defense but our team just fought. We had some huge performances.
Gillian Hauschild was a difference maker tonight. Our setters did a good job finding her the ball.
"Defensively,
Taylor Cigna had one of her best matches of the season. She had some highlight moments for our team and that translated into kills. As a coach, coming back after this to be in first place with seven matches left, I feel really good. The team deserved the win tonight."
UP NEXT
Colgate (16-4, 8-1 PL) is back on the road next weekend for important league matches at American and Loyola on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m.), respectively.
