HAMILTON — Colgate Volleyball won the last two sets to rally past Loyola 3-2 in another five-set thriller Saturday night at Cotterell Court. 

Libby Overmyer fueled the rallying Raiders with a season-high 16 kills along with 11 digs and a .273 hitting percentage. Milan Bayless found her groove as the match wore on and finished with 14 kills to go with a team-high .306 hitting percentage. 

Defensively the Raiders were led by Frances Torres, Lal Akin, and Maddie Rudolph who all finished with three block assists. Deren Cukur tallied 12 digs along with 18 assists for another double-double. 

COACH BAKER'S COMMENTS

"This was a gritty win against a very good and experienced Loyola team. We are battling tests, sickness, and injuries. The fight tonight was impressive given all the distractions. We will take a few days to get healthy and then get back to work for a tough road trip."

HOW IT HAPPENED

Set 1 | Colgate 26, Loyola 24
Colgate trailed 19-15 and again fell behind 23-20 but the resilient Raiders found a way back in the opening set. With Loyola leading 24-22, Torres drilled back-to-back kills before an attack error ended the set with the Raiders scoring the final four points to flip the momentum, 26-24. 

Set 2 | Loyola 25, Colgate 16
After being deadlocked at 14-14 Loyola grasped the set with a pair of late runs. The Raiders once again found themselves trailing 19-15 but this time could not recover. Overmyer found the floor with a kill down the middle to trim the deficit to 19-16 before Loyola ran away with the frame, scoring the final six points to draw even through two sets. 

Set 3 | Loyola 25, Colgate 23
Neither team took early control but it was Colgate who ran out in front 18-14 on the heels of a 6-1 burst led by a pair of kills from Tiana Owens. Loyola clawed back and eventually drew even after a 3-0 run made the score 21-21. Colgate twice reclaimed the lead before the Greyhounds answered with the final three points to take their first lead in the match with a 25-23 final in Set 3. 

Set 4 | Colgate 25, Loyola 16
The two teams went back and forth early in Set 4. Each team traded a 3-0 run which led to a 15-14 lead for the Raiders. The margin remained a one-point lead for Colgate, 17-16, when the Raiders found another gear. Bayless hammered home four kills in a surging 8-0 closing run to steal the momentum. A pair of attack errors ended the frame with the Raiders victorious, 25-16. 

Set 5 | Colgate 15, Loyola 13
Overmyer took over in the fourth set. She had four straight kills that had the Greyhounds reeling with Colgate in front 12-9. Loyola scored back-to-back points to close within 12-11 and that was still the margin when Bayless capped it off with a kill to send the Raiders home with a thrilling five-set victory. 

UP NEXT
Colgate (11-9, 8-1 Patriot) heads to Maryland next weekend to wrap up its regular-season series with Navy and American. The Raiders face the Mids on Friday at 7 p.m., before taking on the Eagles at 3 p.m. on Saturday.