Roller Coaster Weekend Ends on a High Note

With recent success in the Patriot League, the Colgate volleyball team poised to continue its winning ways last weekend against Lafayette and Lehigh, two teams the Raiders had defeated earlier in the season. This time around, however, things were not quite as easy.

Lafayette entered the match against the Raiders as underdogs, having won only three league matches all season and having suffered a sweep at the hands of Colgate on October 8. Clearly, the Leopards did not allow their past performance to affect their play; they looked like a different team. After a narrow 30-27 victory in the first game, Lafayette won the final two, 30-21 and 30-20, respectively, to complete the sweep.

“We gave them too much time in the beginning,” first-year libero Jackie Adlam said, “which let them get a strong lead on us, and before we knew it, we were down two games to none. Although we significantly picked it up in the third game, we were too far behind to gain back our confidence.”

Adlam played admirably, collecting a match-best 16 digs. Fellow first-year Katrina Zawojski paced the team with 15 kills, while senior setter Allie Nichols had 21 assists, 13 digs and eight kills, just missing a triple-double.

For the Raiders, the combination of their loss against Lafayette and Bucknell’s 3-1 win over Lehigh, officially eliminated Colgate from the Patriot League Tournament.

The Raiders returned to form in their second match of the weekend in a clash against Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks entered the match winless in Patriot League play and Colgate made sure they stayed that way, winning 30-22, 30-18 and 30-26. With the victory, Colgate improved to 6-7 in the Patriot League.

“I am proud that even after a devastating loss on Friday night, we were able to pick ourselves off the floor and go in strong the next night,” Adlam said.

Leading the way for the Raiders was sophomore Sheila Giovannini, who accumulated 11 kills and six blocks in the victory. Also impressive was Zawojski, who had nine kills and 12 digs, while on the defensive end Adlam was dominant once again, collecting 14 digs. Nichols also added a match-high 25 assists.

The Raiders’ last match this season takes place tomorrow night against Bucknell on Cotterell Court at 6 p.m.

“We want to win for so many reasons,” Adlam said. “To regain our pride and finish off our season strong with a win over our rivals, especially for our seniors.”

It will undoubtedly be an emotional affair, particularly for senior co-captains Nichols and Meghaan Walsh.

“We are so sad to see two huge components of our season gone; they really stepped up in their role of captains throughout our rollercoaster of a season,” Adlam said. “We will miss them terribly.”