HAMILTON, N.Y. –– A balanced offense that had three players reach double figure in kills pushed Colgate past the Navy volleyball team in four sets, Saturday afternoon at Cotterell Court in Hamilton, N.Y., in the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament.  The 25-17, 18-25, 25-21, 25-14 victory by the top-seeded Raiders (17-9) over the sixth-seeded Mids (13-14) advances them into Sunday's championship match against fourth-seeded American.

"This Navy team plays with a ton of heart," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "We put up a good fight, but credit to Colgate; they had an answer.  Matches like this come down to which team can create points when they are in a bad pass or tough situation.  Colgate won a few more of those points tonight."

Colgate took a 10-5 lead early in set one only to see Navy close to within one point at 11-10.  The Raiders scored each of the next four points to again build some separation.  The Mids were only able to close to within three points at 18-15 over the remainder of the set.

Colgate held just an 11-9 edge in kills in the first set, but the Raiders also held a 3-0 advantage in blocks and doubled the number of service aces Navy recorded (4-2).

The Mids were the team to take an early lead in the second set as they led the Raiders by four points at 10-6.  Colgate winnowed the margin down to two points at both 11-9 and 16-14.  A Colgate service error started a 4-0 run by Navy that boosted the gap out to 20-16.

Navy totaled 13 kills and a .312 hitting percentage in winning the second set.  Avery Stowell (Sr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Cami Herman (Sr., Brookfield, Wis.) each had four kills in the stanza.

Navy again took a lead in the early part of the third set as the visitors were in front by the score of 11-6.  Colgate scored the ensuing six points to regain the lead at 12-11.  The Raiders soon led by one point at 16-15 when they went on a 3-0 run to build a 19-15 cushion.  Navy answered with a kill by Herman, but that was followed by another 3-0 spurt by Colgate that extended their lead out to 22-16.

The Mids totaled a respectable 13 kills in the third set, but the Raiders amassed 20 kills on their 25 points.

Colgate scored five of the first six points of the fourth set before Navy made it a two-point deficit at 10-8.  A 7-2 run by the Raiders gave them a 17-10 advantage, which was too much for the Mids to overcome.

The Raiders again held a sizable lead in kills in the fourth set, 18-7, which was part of a 60-42 advantage in kills for the home team in the match.  Colgate also held a .267-.163 lead in hitting percentage, and a 76-63 edge in digs.

Stowell led Navy's offense with 16 kills while Herman added eight kills.  Stowell also grabbed 11 digs –– to finish second on the team behind Kimberly Lynch's (Sr., Murrietta, Calif.) 16 –– a team-high two aces and three blocks.  Maggie Bodman (So., Northbrook, Ill.) paced the Navy blockers with four.

"These seniors (Herman, Stowell, Lynch, Taylor Gray, Avery Haydu) were freshmen when I arrived," said Labrador, "so we have grown together each year.  They will always have a special place in my heart.  Their leadership has been the engine behind this season.

"We also have some real talent returning, and I have no doubt this match will fuel our offseason for a strong return to the postseason in 2022."