DURHAM, N.C. – A memorable season-opening marathon didn't end Colgate's way in a 3-2 loss to Duke in the first of three matches this weekend inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Colgate took the first set of the season, 28-26, and handled the third set, 25-22, but the Blue Devils on their home court secured the final two frames to shrug off the Raiders' upset bid. Duke completed its comeback victory with a 15-7 triumph in the final set.
Milan Bayless shined in her debut, finishing with a match-high 18 kills. Frances Torres also reached double-digits with 12 kills. Colgate hit a respectable .228 in the contest, while Duke hit near .400 over the final two frames to finish with a .281 clip.
Coach Baker's Comments
"Give credit to Duke for putting together two very good sets to end the match. They took the momentum and ran with it. I was very pleased with our overall effort and enthusiasm. We need to improve some volleyball things for sure, but a very solid start for our opening match."
S1 | Colgate 28, Duke 26
Colgate trailed by as many as four points but used timely hits and service aces to fight back and take the first set. The Blue Devils built their largest lead, 22-18, but three unanswered kills from Bayless completely flipped the script. After each team survived a set point to make it 26-all, a kill from Abby Shadwick and a service ace from Lal Akin sealed Colgate's comeback victory, 28-26.
S2 | Duke 25, Colgate 17
Duke settled the match with a strong bounce-back performance. The Blue Devils built a 10-3 lead and never looked back, securing the eight-point victory. A service ace from Carlie Rzeszotarski brought Colgate within 19-14, but that's as close as the Raiders would get. Duke answered with a 3-0 run and pulled away for the decisive second-set victory.
S3 | Colgate 25, Duke 22
Both teams settled in with an even 10-10 score before the Raiders took advantage of two service errors around kills from Maddie Rudolph and Torres to build a 15-11 edge in Set 3. Each team traded 3-0 runs with another kill from Torres pushing Colgate in front 18-14. Duke once again closed the gap to 22-21, but a kill from Shadwick sealed the Raiders' 25-22 third set.
S4 | Duke 25, Colgate 19
The home team jumped out to an early lead before a 4-0 Colgate burst closed the gap to 13-12 with kills by Torres and Bayless leading the way. The Blue Devils countered with a 4-1 surge of their own to re-establish a comfortable 19-14 edge. A service error helped Colgate close within 20-17 but Duke sent the match to a fifth set with back-to-back kills from Rylie Kadel.
S5 | Duke 15, Colgate 7
Duke carried its momentum over to a decisive fifth-set victory. The Raiders led 2-1 before the Blue Devils rattled off a 5-0 run, their largest run of the match, to build a 6-2 margin. Colgate put together one final gasp, a 3-0 spark capped by a service ace from Bayless to cut the margin to 12-7, but the home team finished off the match with three straight points to secure the victory.
Up Next
Colgate (0-1) returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday to face South Carolina at noon ET.
