HAMILTON – Colgate Volleyball used a strong defensive effort to bounce back and pick up its first win of the season, defeating Buffalo 3-1 on Saturday at Cotterell Court. 

The Raiders held Buffalo to a .177 hitting percentage with 10 blocks and 60 digs. Offensively, Colgate hit just .160 but saw contributions from up and down the roster to rally past Buffalo. Greta Hoogstra and Abby Shadwick paced the Raiders offensively with 10 kills apiece. 

Sydney Jones landed five service aces and 20 assists. Gillian Hauschild (7) and Lal Akin (6) combined for 13 block assists while Rachael Martinez posted a team-best 13 digs. 

Taylor Cigna added her name to the Colgate record book, eclipsing 1,000 digs for her career. The fifth-year senior needed one dig to reach the century mark after registering 18 in Friday night's match against UConn, and she finished with seven in the victory.

COACH BAKER'S COMMENTS

"I'm very happy for the team. They continue to fight and scrap against a very tough non-conference schedule. Today's match wasn't our best statistically, but I liked how we competed. We had some players come off the bench and make some big plays which is a strength of our depth."

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Set 1 | Colgate 25, Buffalo 20

Buffalo used a 4-0 spurt to build a 7-3 lead – which was the margin the visitors held for most of the frame. Baker called a timeout with the Raiders sputtering 19-15 and that immediately sparked a 8-0 rally to give Colgate the lead for good. Jones had a pair of service aces during the surge, and Martinez capped the frame with an ace of her own, 25-20.

Set 2 | Buffalo 25, Colgate 13

Colgate struggled out of the gate in the second set, with Buffalo capitalizing on an early 4-0 rally to take a 9-5 lead. The Raiders had a -.034 hitting clip while the Bulls stretched their lead to 20-10 on the heels of a 7-1 burst. Colgate's lone point during that stretch was a Buffalo service error. The Bulls prevented another Raider rally and held on to even the match, 25-13.

Set 3 | Colgate 25, Buffalo 19

Hoogstra made her presence felt in the go-ahead set. Colgate broke away from a 13-13 tie with three unanswered points capped off by Hoogstra's slam down the middle. Frances Torres drilled home another kill and the Raiders did not look back. Jones, Hoogstra, and Shadwick landed kills down the stretch to preserve Colgate's third-set victory, 25-19.

Set 4 | Colgate 25, Buffalo 22

Both teams enjoyed early runs in the fourth set. Colgate blitzed in front 7-2 before Buffalo took a timeout and answered with a 9-2 surge of its own to force a Raider timeout with the lead, 11-9. The Bulls stretched their margin to 15-11 before Colgate made a late charge. Kills from Shadwick, Akin, and Torres flipped the script, helping the Raiders score the final five points of the frame to complete the victory, 25-22. 

UP NEXT
Colgate (1-4) closes out the Ellis Rowland Memorial tournament against Stony Brook at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. Taylor Cigna will be facing off against her sister, Madison Cigna, who is a sophomore defensive specialist on the Seawolves.