Women’s Volleyball Wins Three Straight Matches: Defeats Loyola, Bucknell, Lafayette; Falls to American

Senior+right+side+and+outside+hitter+Katie+Stebbins+performed+strongly+for+the+Raiders%2C+leading+the+team+with+nine+kills+against+Lafayette

Senior right side and outside hitter Katie Stebbins performed strongly for the Raiders, leading the team with nine kills against Lafayette

The Colgate Women’s Volleyball team had a victorious past two weeks with only one loss against three wins. Last week the Raiders competed against division foe American University on Saturday, October 8 when they suffered their sole, disappointing 0-3 loss  with individual set scores of (18-25, 23-25, 20-25). This loss was certainly disheartening to the Raiders, however, the undefeated Eagles were worthy opponents.

The next day, Sunday October 9, the Raiders traveled to Baltimore, Maryland to face Loyola where they swept their longtime Patriot League rival 3-0 with individual set scores of 25-9, 25-11, 26-24. The Raiders ran through Loyola in the first two sets, with senior outside hitter Kathleen Harris leading her team offensively with 10 kills, five digs, and one solo block. Sophomore outside hitter Katie Stansbury led the Raiders defensively, recording a season high 18 digs. The third set proved much more competitive than the first two, with the Raiders nearly giving a set away to Loyola. Fortunately, the Raiders managed to dig deep and came back from behind for a clean sweep of Loyola.

On Monday October 10, the Raiders faced the Bucknell Bisons in a match that head coach Ryan Baker referred to as “always competitive.” After falling short during the first two sets, the Raiders managed to regain their composure and defeat the Bison 3-2 with individual set scores of (24-26, 17-25, 25-23, 25-9, 15-9). The Raiders battled against the Bison hard during the first two sets, just barely falling short. After those two set losses, the Raiders stepped up their game battling back hard to win the third set 25-23 with impressive performances from Harris and sophomore middle blocker Jaelah Hutchison who both contributed two crucial kills each in the third set. After their first set win, the Raiders took off and captured the fourth set from the Bison with ease 25-9, and the fifth set tiebreaker immediately after. Harris recorded a season best 20 kills, clearly cementing herself as the match’s MVP. Head coach Baker commented on the team’s match.

“There’s no better way to end a three-match Patriot League road weekend than a 5-set comeback after being down two sets. The team gutted out a win against a strong team. We talk all the time about responding and they did just that,” Baker said.  

On Saturday October 15, the Raiders swept Lafayette 3-0 with individual set scores of (25-18, 25-19, 25-23). As per usual, Harris played an impressive match contributing nine kills and 11 digs. Additionally, senior right side/outside hitter Katie Stebbins put nine kills on the board, helping the Raiders secure another Patriot League win.

Baker lauded his girls’ performance against league rival Lafayette.

“I felt that we played a very clean match against a much improved Lafayette team. I thought that junior setter Molly Smith set a wonderful match,” Baker said. “Her choices and location were great. Lafayette has some strong servers, but our passing game really hung in there.”

The Raiders will face a difficult match against Army next week on Friday October 21. As the postseason looms in the coming weeks, the Raiders hope to secure a victory against Army and continue their momentum. The Army match will be home at Colgate’s Cotterell Court, where the atmosphere is expected to be electric.