HAMILTON – A strong performance from the Colgate volleyball team saw the Raiders sweep American University 3-0 in a 2021 Patriot League Championship rematch.
 
Colgate finished the game with a .361 hitting percentage compared to the Eagles' .286 hitting percentage. The Raiders also finished with the advantage in kills at 50-39.
 
Abby Shadwick led the way for the Raiders with 15 kills, while Carlie Rzeszotarski also reached double digits with 10 kills of her own. Sydney Jones tallied 16 assists, Julia Kurowski had 15, and Taylor Cigna had nine. On the defensive side, Cigna led the way in digs for Colgate with 11, and Kurowski and Rachael Martinez each tallied eight.
 
Set 1: Colgate 25, American 18
Colgate got off to a quick start, leading 7-3 early in the set. The Raiders then went on an 8-3 run to expand their lead to 16-8. After a couple of points by the Eagles, another 4-0 run expanded the lead back to eight at 21-13. American attempted to make a late push with a trio of points at the end, but they were unable to keep the momentum going as a kill by Sophie Thompson ended the set with a 25-18 Raiders win.
 
Set 2: Colgate 28, American 26
The Raiders got off to a 6-2 start, but American answered back with a 5-0 run to take a one-point lead. From there, both sides battled back and forth, going on small runs throughout the middle of the set. Four straight points by the Eagles gave them their largest lead in the set at 18-15. Colgate battled back and pulled within one at 21-20 before eventually tying the game up at 25-25. After giving up a point, the Raiders then scored two straight to take the set 28-26.
 
Set 3: Colgate 25, American 20
The final set began with more back-and-forth play as neither team could pull ahead by more than two points through the halfway mark. Three-straight points, including kills from Kurowski and Shadwick, put the Raiders up 16-13. Another 5-2 run by Colgate expanded its lead to six at 23-17. The Eagles answered with a quick 3-1 run to pull back within four at 24-20. The match then ended on a service error by the Eagles.
 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Ryan Baker
 
"Our offense was clicking on all cylinders tonight. We were able to stay in system because of our passing game. American is a well-coached team who forces you to make plays and we did that in some key moments. It's a long season, but I'm very happy with our start."
 
UP NEXT
The Raiders travel to Pennsylvania next weekend for their first set of Patriot League road games. Colgate takes on Lafayette at 4 p.m. Saturday and Bucknell at 3 p.m. Sunday.
 
 
 
 
 
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