HAMILTON – Colgate's 11-match winning streak came to an end with a 3-1 loss to UAlbany in front of more than 1,000 local elementary students for Kids Day on Tuesday afternoon at Cotterell Court.
Milan Bayless paced the Raiders with 16 kills, including six in the opening set that Colgate secured 25-23. Frances Torres was also in double-digits with 11 kills to go with a .478 hitting percentage. Deren Cukur and Tiana Owens each had 10 digs.
UAlbany was led by Shynelle Woroniuk's 21 kills and took advantage of its service game, with 12 aces allowing the visitors to take the final three sets in the match. Colgate hit .225 in the match, while the Great Danes finished with a .314 clip.
COACH BAKER'S COMMENTS
"I am extremely grateful to all the schools for coming out to our kid's day match. The environment was special and something our players will remember for quite some time. As far as the volleyball piece is concerned, we are all disappointed by the level of play from today. Credit goes to Albany as they never took their foot off the gas and never let us get in rhythm. We will get back to work and get ready for the second half of league play."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 | Colgate 25, UAlbany 23
UAlbany got off to a hot start and prompted an early Raider timeout after using a 4-0 run to build a 12-8 advantage. Colgate got it going offensively and took its first lead of the set, 17-16, on the heels of a 4-0 burst thanks to kills from Bayless and Owens.
UAlbany reclaimed the lead before Colgate scored three unanswered points capped by a service ace from Ava Schabes to pull even at 20-20. Back-to-back kills from Bayless sparked a 4-0 surge for the Raiders, who took a 24-21 lead. After UAlbany survived two set points, a service error out of a timeout handed Colgate the first set, 25-23.
Set 2 | UAlbany 25, Colgate 22
Colgate led for large portions of the second set but UAlbany found some rhythm down the stretch. Kills by Torres and Owens sparked a 4-0 Colgate run that opened a 17-13 lead before the Great Danes started to mount their comeback.
UAlbany responded with four unanswered points to tie it at 17-17. Three straight kills from Tori Wilson gave the visitors the upper hand. Colgate was within two points after a kill by Bayless, but a service error sealed the second set for the Great Danes, 25-22.
Set 3 | UAlbany 25, Colgate 14
The teams were tied 8-8 when UAlbany took advantage of back-to-back kills by Wilson to establish a 12-8 lead. Big swings from Maddie Rudolph and Torres cut the deficit to 12-10, but that was as close as Colgate would get. The Great Danes extended the margin to 16-11 en route to a 10-3 closing run that claimed the third set, 25-14.
Set 4 | UAlbany 25, Colgate 12
Colgate fell behind early and never quite recovered in the fourth and final set. Consecutive kills from Torres brought the Raiders within 8-6 but UAlbany responded with a 4-0 run to pull away. UAlbany capitalized with six service aces in the frame, including on four of the last six points, to snap Colgate's 11-match winning streak, 3-1.
UP NEXT
Colgate (13-6, 8-0 Patriot) returns to Patriot League play this weekend when the Raiders host Lehigh on Saturday at 2 p.m.
