HAMILTON – Colgate used an all-around balanced effort to secure its second win in as many days of the Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament with a dominant 3-0 victory over UAlbany Friday night.
The Raiders with the win extended their home winning streak to 26 matches dating back to 2021. Friday night's affair had a different script than Thursday's five-set marathon win over West Virginia, and Colgate had everything working from the opening serve this time.
"We played clean volleyball from start to finish," said head coach Ryan Baker about the win. "It was good to see a lot of different players contribute and for us to keep firing. Our home crowd was great again and we are thankful to have the support we are receiving."
Milan Bayless paced a lethal Colgate attack with 14 kills, followed by Gillian Hauschild (6) and Frances Torres (5). Colgate posted a season-best .307 hitting percentage with seven different players recording at least one kill. Defensively the Raiders held UAlbany to a .068 hitting clip backed by four blocks (three assists and one solo) from Sophie Thompson.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: Colgate 25, UAlbany 15
Colgate was red-hot from the opening serve and blasted UAlbany with a .395 first-set hitting percentage. Hauschild landed three straight kills to help Colgate build a 14-9 lead. The middle stages went back-and-forth before the Raiders closed it out with a 6-1 burst. Bayless lined up five kills in the opening frame and Colgate pulled away for the 25-15 victory.
Set 2: Colgate 25, UAlbany 14
The Raiders benefited from four UAlbany errors in a 5-0 surge to establish a 12-5 advantage. First-years Torres and Bayless continued to shine, and Greta Hoogstra and Thompson found their presence at the top of the tape to help the Raiders stretch their lead to 18-10. Abby Shadwick added a kill down the stretch and Colgate pulled away once again, 25-14.
Set 3: Colgate 25, UAlbany 15
Colgate's precision carried over to another dominant frame. The Raiders quickly worked out of a 3-0 hole with a 15-3 run capped off by kills from Hauschild and Carlie Rzeszotarski. The outside duo combined for six kills during the run that turned a 3-0 deficit into a 15-6 lead. UAlbany closed within 22-15 before Thompson's kill sealed a 3-0 final run to finish off the sweep.
UP NEXT
Colgate (4-4) wraps up the fifth annual Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament with a 7:30 p.m. matchup against in-state rival Cornell on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Cotterell Court.
