HAMILTON – In fitting fashion Colgate won the final two sets to rally past Army 3-2 in a five-set thriller for the Patriot League championship on Sunday afternoon at Cotterell Court. 

Colgate became the third program in Patriot League volleyball history to win four-straight league championships and the first since 2017. The Raiders claimed their ninth overall championship, second-most of any team in the conference, including their fifth title under head coach Ryan Baker. 

Senior Abby Shadwick was named tournament MVP, leading the way with 19 kills and 15 digs. Sophomores Milan Bayless and Frances Torres added 15 and 10 kills, respectively. Defensively, the Raiders saw four players contribute 15 or more  digs, including a game-high 24 from fifth-year Taylor Cigna. As a team, Colgate collected a season-high 89 digs in the balanced performance.

Colgate hit .571 in the fifth and final set to put the match away. The Raiders hit .180 overall and limited Army to a .134 percentage led by nine block assists from Lal Akin.

COACH BAKER'S COMMENTS

"Speechless. This team has shown all season that they will fight to the end. We've come back a lot and that speaks to the character of our players. It's hard to put into words what we've done. Four in a row says a lot about what type of program we've built, the leadership from our entire staff, and the team in the locker room. It takes a lot of people to get here. The community here is something that I don't take for granted. The people rally around Colgate athletics – and they showed up tonight. What we're doing here is special and I will never take it for granted." 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Set 1 | Colgate 25, Army 20
Torres went down the right line for Colgate's first point of the afternoon to kick off an early 5-1 Raider run. The Black Knights battled back, keeping Colgate within two points for the lion's share of the opening set. Defending an 18-16 advantage, Shadwick went into takeover mode with two kills and a service ace that just barely crept over the net to assert a 23-19 lead. One Torres block later and an Army service error awarded the opening st to Colgate. 

Set 2 | Army 25, Colgate 23
Army scored four of the first five points to open the second stanza, which was coupled with a 5-1 Black Knight run to force a Colgate timeout after 13 points. Despite hitting .048 in the second set, the Raiders eventually knotted the score at 15 on two Black Knight service errors and a missile off the arm of Bayless, one of her team-high four kills in the set. However, Army strung together four points in a row out of the timeout and held on to narrowly eke out a second-set triumph.

Set 3 | Army 25, Colgate 15
The Black Knights started the third with another early lead, this time jumping ahead 6-1 and forcing a Colgate timeout with a 9-3 advantage. After falling behind 12-5, the Raiders won six of the next eight points to cut the deficit to just three. That was as close as Colgate could get in the third set, struggling to get its hitting percentage in the positives and eventually falling, 25-15. 

Set 4 | Colgate 25, Army 21
For the third set in a row, Army jumped out with an early lead claiming the first three points. After tying the score at four, neither team won consecutive points until the Black Knights took a 13-11 advantage. Three Shadwick kills and an ace put the home side on top, 19-17, but Army stormed back to even the scoreboard at 20 all. The Black Knights stumbled from there, conceding two attack errors in the final five points that allowed for the Raiders to force a decisive fifth set.

Set 5 | Colgate 15, Army 10
With Cotterell Court jumping, a 3-0 start for the Raiders forced Army to use a timeout to halt the momentum. Colgate continued to play with the lead, and Shadwick powered a 4-1 Raider run with three kills which allowed Colgate to take a commanding 7-3 advantage. The Black Knights kept things interesting, but they were unable overcome a red-hot Shadwick and the Raiders' .571 fifth-set hitting percentage. 

UP NEXT
Colgate (19-10, 15-2 Patriot) will learn its next destination when the NCAA releases the 64-team tournament bracket during the selection show at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 1, airing on ESPN. Regional dates are set for Thursday, Dec. 5 - Sunday, Dec. 8. 

2024 Patriot League Volleyball All-Tournament Team
Abby Shadwick, Colgate, Sr., OH – MVP
Taylor Cigna, Colgate, 5th., L
Frances Torres, Colgate, So., RS
Mackenzie Lynch, Army West Point, Jr., OH
Juliette Myrick, Army West Point, So., S
Caleigh O'Connell, Bucknell, Jr., S
Megan Schulte, Lehigh, Sr., OH