Colgate volleyball had a very exciting Family Weekend, beating Bucknell at home on Cotterell Court, 3-0. The Raiders had lost to the Bucknell Bison earlier in the season, but Colgate came out strong on Friday to get its revenge. The win propelled Colgate to sole possession of third place with just four Patriot League matches to go.

“I believe that against Bucknell we knew we simply had to win,” Senior captain and libero Jackie Adlam said. “The expectation was there, as we demonstrated early in the first game. We never felt as though there was pressure, but rather a hunger for revenge for what happened at Bucknell earlier this season.”

After Colgate and Bucknell swapped the first four points of the first set, Colgate took the lead and never relinquished it. A huge block by senior Captain Katrina Zawojski on sophomore Devon Applegate’s put the team at 4-2, and a solid double block by sophomore Casey Ritt and junior Meghan Fanta (named Patriot League Baden Player of the Week) lifted the momentum at 20-12. Colgate went on to take the first set, 25-13 with many strong defensive and offensive plays.

“I think we beautifully executed our game plan and were given a scouting report that truly highlighted their weaknesses. Because of this, our hitters were able to destroy their defense, and our defenders were ready for the shots they tried to make,” Adlam said.

In set two, the Bison made a stronger attempt to stay in the game. The score flipped back and forth between teams until a big kill down the line by Zawojski put Colgate up 12-10. Two consecutive aces by sophomore Logan Keala boosted Colgate to a 20-13 lead. Ritt added another great ace at 24-15, and junior Kelsea Loveless sealed the deal with a kill.

Bucknell came out still seeking redemption in the third set and managed to keep up their end of the rally, staying ahead of Colgate through the late half of the game, holding the Raiders down at 17-19, 18-20, 19-21 and 20-22. Colgate then launched back into action, pushing the score to 22-22. A kill from Keala gave Colgate the breakthrough needed to finish out the set, winning 25-23.

“{Colgate] played extremely well. Our serving was strong; our passing was very strong, which made our offense very tough to play against,” Head Coach Ryan Baker said.

The statistics also reflected Colgate’s success on Friday night. Ritt led the offensive attack with a team-high 12 kills, and she was aided by Zawojski with nine, Keala with eight, first-year Kaylee Dougherty with seven and Loveless with four. Fanta tallied up 36 assists and 11 defensive digs, and another 11 digs were brought up by Adlam. The team totaled 48 digs, compared to Bucknell’s 37. Raider hitting percentages were also outstanding, topped off with a .565 in the first set.

“Fanta set a very good match, but without passing from Jackie and Devon, nothing would’ve been possible,” Coach Baker said.

Standing at a record of 6-4 in the Patriot League, Colgate quickly approaches the Patriot League Tournament in two weeks. Treasuring this significant league victory over Bucknell, the Raiders look ahead to the next big challenge: facing Army for round two. That game will take place tonight at 7 p.m. at Cotterell Court.

“If this game is any indicator of how our team will show up against Army this Friday, the Black Knights are in for a rude awakening. Revenge seems to be the driving factor for our team right now, and I believe that Army and American have it coming,” Adlam said.

Colgate will then host Holy Cross on Saturday at 4 p.m.