The Colgate volleyball team split a quartet of matches this past weekend, going 2-2 at the Niagara/Canisius Invitational. On Friday, the Raiders fell to Canisius, 0-3, followed by another 0-3 loss to Big Ten opponent Indiana University. Saturday saw Colgate make a comeback, however, as they first topped Robert Morris, 3-2, and then Niagara, also 3-2.

In their first set against Canisius, the Raiders never saw the lead, and fell 25-20. The second set was much closer, with some back-and-forth action on the scoreboard, but Canisius still claimed the victory, 25-21. They then ran away with the final game, 25-14, leaving Colgate with the 0-3 loss.

Junior Maureen Colligan and senior captain Logan Keala led the way for the Raiders at the net, posting eight and six kills, respectively. First-year Kaylee Fifer recorded 18 assists, while senior captain Devon Applegate and Keala had team-high defensive digs, with nine and eight, respectively.

Later that day the Raiders took on the Indiana Hoosiers. The first set saw Colgate fighting hard with its opponent, never letting the Hoosiers have a sizeable lead until the very end, when they finished off the set, 25-20, over the Raiders. The second game was simply dominated by Indiana, 25-10. In the third and final set, Colgate came back swinging, but could not quite manage to find a solid lead, and Indiana took the match at 25-17.

In the loss, junior Kaylee Dougherty and sophomore Michelle McCarthy each posted seven kills, while Applegate again led in defensive digs, bringing up 11. Fifer recorded 16 assists during the match.

Saturday was a day of celebration for the Raiders, as they added two wins to their record. In the first match of the day against Robert Morris, Colgate came out with momentum, taking the first two sets 25-20 and 25-18. The Raiders led in the third game, but allowed Robert Morris to come back and claim a 25-17 win. Robert Morris held onto that energy and defeated the Raiders in the fourth game as well, with a score of 25-19. The fifth set saw an intense battle between the two teams, battling far past a 15-point win, all the way to the Raiders’ victory at 19-17, giving Colgate the 3-2 win overall.

Colligan again paved the way at the net with 16 kills. Senior captain Casey Ritt and Dougherty both hit double digits as well, posting 11 and 10 kills respectively. Fifer recorded 37 assists, while Applegate and Keala dominated the defense with 13 digs apiece.

In their final match of the tournament, the Raiders fought in another five-set match in which they won the first game, 25-20, before dropping the next two, both 20-25, to Niagara. Colgate came back, however, and won the last two sets 25-15 and 15-11 to claim the victory.

Against Niagara, Ritt had a huge game, as she put down 15 kills and was the only Raider to hit double digits on offense.

Fifer led in assists with 25, while junior Blair Safir added 11. Applegate contributed 25 digs, while Fifer added 12.

The Raiders will host the Colgate Invitational this weekend at Cotterell Court, where they will face Akron, Connecticut and Cornell.