NCAA Tournament First Round
Colgate (22-7, 13-3 PL) at No. 17 Creighton (27-4, 16-2 BIG EAST)
Omaha, Neb. | D.J. Sokol Arena
Watch | Live Stats | Notes HAMILTON –

The Raiders have never faced Creighton, but the two teams are juggernauts in their respective conferences. Colgate is coming off its third consecutive Patriot League title and fourth regular season championship in five years under 18th-year head coach Ryan Baker who earned his fifth Patriot League Coach of the Year honor in 2023. 

Creighton, the 10-time defending BIG EAST regular season champions, won its ninth league title since 2014 after sweeping DePaul and St. John's in the conference tourney. The Bluejays have won 42 of their last 43 sets since Preseason BIG East Player of the Year Norah Sis returned from injury on Oct. 7. 

Broadcast Information
All of the NCAA Tournament matches from Omaha will be broadcast on ESPN+. Jon Schriner and Shannon Smolinski will call the action with Ana Bellinghausen serving as sideline reporter. To access ESPN+ programming, visit WatchESPN.com. A subscription fee and/or cable authorization may be required.
 
Live Stats Information
All matches of the NCAA Tournament will have free live stats at http://www.ncaa.com/mediastats.

Scouting Colgate
Colgate boasts a deep repertoire of Milan Bayless, Gillian Hauschild, Abby Shadwick, Libby Overmyer, and Carlie Rzeszotarski who all average multiple kills per set. Bayless is the leader averaging 2.59 kills per set after pacing the team with 13 in the Patriot League title match. 

The Raiders' second straight 20-win season was capped off with a 3-0 sweep of American in the conference championship at Cotterell Court. Colgate's non-conference highlights include a 3-2 win over West Virginia, the program's first-ever win over a Big 12 opponent, and a sweep over Syracuse. Colgate secured nine regular-season sweeps during conference play to earn its fourth regular season title in five years. 

All-Patriot League First Team selections Hauschild and Shadwick rank second and third on the team in kills per set with 2.50 and 2.43, respectively. Sophie Thompson enters the NCAA tournament ranked fifth nationally in blocks per set (1.55). Taylor Cigna was named the Patriot League Tournament MVP after racking up 33 digs in seven postseason sets. 

Sydney Jones and Claire Dewine share time running the offense. Jones leads the team in assists with 626, followed by Dewine (451). Rachael Martinez has posted a team-best 332 digs for an average of 3.42 per frame. 

Scouting Creighton
Creighton has won 15 straight matches to improve to 27-4 on the season. Creighton is ranked 17th in the AVCA poll and ninth in the RPI, and boast road wins over No.9 Minnesota and No. 16 Purdue in addition to a home victory over No. 25 Marquette. The Bluejays are 11-0 at home this season, including eight straight sweeps. The last time the Bluejays dropped a set at home was Sept. 3 against Northern Iowa. 

Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Norah Sid (3.82 kps., .2.74 dps.) missed 11 matches with an injury, but the Bluejays have won 42-of-43 sets since she returned and are 19-1 overall in matches with her in the line-up.

BIG EAST Player of the Year and Setter of the Year Kendra Wait (10.27 aps., 3.37 dps., 1.12 kps., 0.79 bps., .368%) directs the Bluejay offense, while Ellie Bolton (3.72 dps.) Sydney Breissinger, (2.86 dps., 0.34 saps.) and Sky McCune (2.04 dps.) have all seen time at libero.

Creighton leads the BIG EAST in kills per set (14.50), assists per set (13.37), blocks per set (2.24), opponent hitting percentage (.134), digs per set (16.30) and hitting percentage (.286) and also averages 1.56 aces per set.

Weekend Outlook
Utah State (24-6) and Minnesota (16-12) kick off the weekend in Creighton at 5 p.m. ET on Friday. The second match on Friday will see the Raiders (22-7) facing host No. 17 Creighton (27-4) at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Second Round, featuring Friday's two winning teams, will be played on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. D.J. Sokol Arena (2,500) in Omaha, Neb., will host the action.