Raiders Capture Pair of 3-0 Victories to Finish Opening Weekend Undefeated
Colgate volleyball head coach Ryan Baker secured his 200th career head coaching victory Saturday evening when the Raiders battled for a hard-fought 3-0 (26-24, 28-26, 25-21) victory over the ACC’s Syracuse. Colgate claimed a dominant 3-0 (25-18, 25-7, 25-13) win over Siena in the Saturday opener at the Syracuse Tournament to finish its season-opening weekend with a 3-0 record.
Baker’s career record now stands at 200-157, with 178 of those wins coming at Colgate. The other 22 victories came from his one-year stint as head coach at Clarkson in 2004. Baker is one of just two coaches in program history with more than 100 wins. The 12th-season head coach has coached the Raiders to a 103-43 Patriot League record during his tenure.
The Raiders battled to fight off set point in both the first and second sets against Syracuse en route to the 3-0 victory. Junior Katie Stansbury registered a double-double with a team-best 15 kills and 13 digs. Senior Lauren Sanderson notched her second double-double of the season with a career-high 46 assists and 11 digs.
Colgate hit .352 as a team to secure the 3-0 victory over Siena. Junior Preseason All-Patriot League pick Jaelah Hutchison led the way with a scorching .692 hitting percentage thanks to nine kills and no errors in 13 total attempts.
HOW IT HAPPENED – SYRACUSE
The Raiders stormed out to a quick 8-3 lead in the first set against the Orange, but Syracuse rattled off a 9-3 run to take a 12-11 advantage. Syracuse pulled ahead 17-15, but three kills from first-year Alli Lowe and a spike from Sanderson put four-straight points on the board to put Colgate up 19-17 and force an Orange timeout. Syracuse tied the set at 19 out of the intermission and the score was knotted at every point until the Orange held set point at 24-23. Hutchison stuffed a solo block before smacking a kill and forcing a Syracuse timeout with Colgate ahead 25-24. Sanderson put down a sneaky kill out of the timeout to secure the 26-24 set-one victory for the Raiders.
The second set was just as tightly contested and started in a 9-9 draw. Neither team was able to get ahead by more than three until Syracuse broke an 18-all tie with five-straight points to take a 23-18 lead. Two kills from Lowe and a block from sophomore Taylor Flaherty and junior Amanda Smith pulled the Raiders back within two at 23-21 and forced an Orange timeout. Syracuse stormed back to set up set point at 24-21, but the Raiders were once again able to fight it off as a Flaherty kill and service ace from sophomore Alex Stein helped tie the score at 24. With the board at 26-all a few points later, a Syracuse attack error was followed by a Hutchison spike to hand Colgate the 28-26 set-two win and 2-0 match advantage.
The Raiders trailed Syracuse 11-6 early on in the third set, but eventually fought back to knot the score at 15. Kills from Stansbury and Hutchison put the next two points on the board and forced an Orange timeout. A Syracuse point followed to pull the Orange within one, but it would be as close as the tournament hosts would get the rest of the way. Stansbury smacked three kills to close out the set and secure Colgate’s 25-21 set-three victory and 3-0 match win.
HOW IT HAPPENED – SIENA
The Raiders found themselves down 5-2 early in the opening set against Siena, but quickly rallied with a 9-4 run to take an 11-9 lead. The Saints hung within two as the score read 17-15, but Colgate closed the set on an 8-3 streak to capture a 25-18 set-one victory.
Colgate picked up right where it left off in the second set, getting out to a quick 7-1 lead behind kills from three different Raiders and a pair of service aces from junior Peighton McRobie. The Saints tallied the next two points, but Colgate continued to cruise and closed the term on an 18-4 run to capture a dominant 25-7 set-two win and take a 2-0 match lead. The Raiders hit a blistering .571 during the set.
The third and final set against the Saints started much like the second as Colgate found itself up 7-1 following kills from four separate Raiders and two service aces from first-year Bridget Kolsky. The Raiders stretched their advantage to 11 at 16-5 and wouldn’t let Siena get closer than 10 the rest of the way. A kill and service ace from Stein cemented the 25-13 set-three win and 3-0 match victory.
BOTTOM LINES
- Colgate 3, Siena 0 (25-18, 25-7, 25-13)
- Colgate 3, Syracuse 0 (26-24, 28-26, 25-21)
WON-LOST RECORDS
- The Raiders move to 3-0 on the season for the first time since 2013.
- Syracuse falls to 2-2.
- Siena dropped to 0-3 on the season with the loss.
KEY RAIDER INFO
- Colgate collected a 3-0 sweep of Syracuse for second time in program history. The only other 3-0 sweep came in 1993. The Raiders collected their third-straight win over the Orange.
- Stansbury led the Raiders on the day with 24 kills in the two matches combined, while Lowe followed with 19 spikes.
- Hutchison stuffed a team-best seven total blocks to go along with 17 kills and a .424 combined hitting percentage.
- Sanderson finished the day with 81 assists and 18 digs. She averaged an impressive 13.5 assists per set.
- McRobie registered a team-best 40 digs in the two matches combined.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Ryan Baker
- “I’m just so proud of our fight all weekend. This team has been competing like crazy all preseason and it paid off. Our defensive intensity was the difference maker. Syracuse was up in every set and we kept battling.”
- “This was a total team effort from start to finish. I can’t wait to keep improving as the season is a marathon not a sprint.”
- “I was so surprised to hear that this was by 200th win. This isn’t something I pay attention to. The team surprised me with pictures of my face after we won. It’s a moment I won’t forget. I’d like to thank my current and former players along with all of my staff. This milestone is possible because of them.”
UP NEXT
- Colgate remains on the road next weekend with a trip to the Albany Invitational.
- The Raiders face Temple Friday before taking on Albany and St. John’s Saturday.