HAMILTON – A special night for Colgate Volleyball was capped off with a 3-0 sweep over Niagara on Wednesday evening at Cotterell Court.
Prior to the home opener, members of the senior class joined Head Coach Ryan Baker, Vice President and Director of Athletics Nicki Moore, and Alli Lowe '22 for the banner unveiling to celebrate last year's Patriot League championship and NCAA tournament appearance.
The Raiders kept the celebration going through a quick 3-0 sweep, posting a .327 hitting percentage and holding Niagara to a .139 clip. Colgate finished the night with 42 kills.
Abby Shadwick led the charge with 10 kills and Carlie Rzeszotarski set a career-high in kills for the second consecutive match with nine. Colgate shined defensively once again, led by 13 digs from Taylor Cigna, 11 digs from Rachael Martinez, and two block assists by Sophie Thompson.
Set 1: Colgate 25, Niagara 19
Colgate bolted in front early and never trailed. Niagara closed to within 11-10 before Colgate scored four of the next five points sparked by a kill from Rzeszotarski to stretch the lead to 15-12 at the media timeout. Both teams traded blows until the Raiders put it away with a 5-1 run after kills from Harper Snyder and Thompson put a stamp on the first set.
Set 2: Colgate 25, Niagara 12
The second match started as a back-and-forth battle but Colgate took over with a pair of 4-0 runs. Consecutive kills from Shadwick, Rzeszotarski, Snyder, and Leota ignited the first run before a pair of attack errors pushed the lead all the way to 19-9. Caroline Altergott added a late kill of her own to seal the second set, 25-12.
Set 3: Colgate 25, Niagara 19
Colgate trailed for the first time all night, 2-1, but the deficit was short-lived as the Raiders countered with four straight points to retake the lead. The match was leveled at 15-15 and Colgate's lead trimmed to 19-18 but the Raiders scored six of the last seven points. Back-to-back kills from Snyder and Shadwick sealed the deal with Colgate completing the sweep, 25-19.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Ryan Baker
"This was an amazing night to see everyone back in Cotterell Court. Thinking back makes you reflect on last season and we had a special guest in Alli Lowe to join us for the banner ceremony. The crowd was electric; they got an exciting display of volleyball. Our defense has been the key and it showed up again tonight. This is a new brand of Colgate Volleyball. I'm really proud of what we're doing.
"I'm excited for the Cornell weekend ahead – another weekend where we have to play the kind of defense we have been playing. Hopefully we'll get a little more offense earlier in the match but I'm really happy overall."
UP NEXT
Colgate (4-3) heads to Ithaca, N.Y., for three matches this weekend at Cornell. The Raiders face the Big Red on Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on Temple and UAlbany at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday. All three matches can be streamed live on ESPN+.
