Navy Storms Back From Two Sets Down to Stun Colgate in Five-Set Patriot League Opener

HAMILTON, N.Y. — The Navy women’s volleyball team could have folded after dropping the opening two sets Friday afternoon at Cotterell Court. Instead, the Midshipmen produced their most dramatic comeback of the young season.

Navy rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat Colgate, 15-25, 17-25, 25-14, 25-21, 15-9, in the Patriot League opener for both programs. The victory improved the Midshipmen to 3-6 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while Colgate fell to 5-5 and 0-1.

Farrah Eike led the comeback with a match-high 24 kills and added 13 digs for a double-double. Caroline Buffum recorded 15 kills, Ellen Gundlach added 11 and Amara Chambers anchored the defense with a match-high 21 digs as Navy transformed a difficult opening two sets into a memorable five-set victory.

Colgate Controls the Opening Set

The first set gave little indication of what was coming later in the afternoon. Navy stayed close early and was tied with Colgate at 7-7, but the Raiders gradually created separation and turned an 11-9 advantage into a 15-10 lead. The Midshipmen briefly closed within four points before Colgate pulled away for a convincing 25-15 victory.

Colgate’s offense was exceptionally efficient during the opening frame. The Raiders totaled 18 kills with only three attacking errors on 38 attempts, producing a .395 hitting percentage. Navy recorded 12 kills but committed six errors and hit .143.

Those numbers established the early pattern. Colgate was terminating attacks at a high rate while Navy was having difficulty creating enough defensive stops to build sustained scoring runs. The Raiders took advantage and grabbed the early momentum on their home floor.

Raiders Put Navy on the Brink

Things became even more difficult for Navy during the second set. Colgate continued its highly efficient offensive performance, recording 14 kills with only one error on 29 attacks for a .448 hitting percentage. Navy improved offensively to .200 with 15 kills, but eight attack errors prevented the Midshipmen from keeping pace.

Colgate took the set, 25-17, and moved within one set of completing a sweep. At that point, the Raiders had won six consecutive sets against Navy dating to the teams’ 2025 regular-season finale, when Colgate defeated the Midshipmen in four sets at the same venue.

The challenge facing Navy was considerable. Colgate entered the match having won nine consecutive meetings in the series, and Navy had not defeated the Raiders in Hamilton since November 2018. The Midshipmen needed to win three consecutive sets in a building where they had lost 10 straight matches.

They did exactly that.

Navy Completely Flips the Match

Whatever adjustments Navy made between the second and third sets produced an immediate response.

The Midshipmen became dramatically more efficient offensively while their defense finally disrupted Colgate’s attack. Navy recorded 13 kills with only four errors on 23 attempts in the third set, producing a .391 hitting percentage. Colgate went in the opposite direction, managing six kills against seven errors to finish the set with a negative-.038 hitting percentage.

That represented an enormous swing from the opening two sets, when Colgate hit .395 and .448.

Navy dominated the third set, 25-14, and suddenly the match had a completely different feel. The Midshipmen had not simply survived elimination; they had controlled the set by 11 points and forced Colgate to deal with its first significant adversity of the afternoon.

For a team that entered Patriot League play with a 2-6 record, the response was important. Navy had closed its nonconference schedule with a four-set victory over Maryland Eastern Shore, and instead of allowing the early deficit against Colgate to erase that momentum, the Midshipmen fought their way back into the match.

Fourth Set Becomes the Turning Point

Colgate responded in the fourth, creating a much more competitive set.

Navy still had to win to extend the match, while the Raiders needed only one set to finish it. The pressure increased as the teams moved deeper into the frame, and Colgate eventually battled back to tie the score at 19.

This was the moment when Navy’s comeback could have ended.

Instead, the Midshipmen produced the decisive points late in the set and closed out a 25-21 victory. Navy totaled 14 kills during the frame while holding Colgate to nine, and the Raiders again struggled offensively with six attack errors and a .088 hitting percentage.

Two sets earlier, Navy appeared headed toward a straight-set defeat. Now the Midshipmen had forced a winner-take-all fifth set.

Navy head coach Paco Labrador credited the team’s culture and ability to remain composed regardless of the score. He also singled out captain Grace Burgoyne for providing leadership and saying what the team needed to hear at critical moments.

That mentality became especially important with the match reduced to 15 points.

Eike Takes Over in the Fifth

The decisive set was competitive early, but Navy eventually created the separation it needed.

With the teams fighting for control midway through the fifth, the Midshipmen put together a 5-0 run that extended their advantage to 12-6. Colgate answered with a block and two kills, but Navy had already created too large of a margin for the Raiders to overcome.

Eike was at her best when Navy needed her most.

She recorded five of her match-high 24 kills in the fifth set alone. Her final attack ended the match, completing Navy’s comeback after two hours and six minutes of volleyball.

Navy hit .333 in the fifth set, producing 11 kills against only three errors on 24 attempts. Colgate finished with five kills and three errors on 26 swings for a .077 hitting percentage.

The offensive numbers illustrate how dramatically the match changed. Colgate overwhelmed Navy offensively during the first two sets, but once the Midshipmen found their rhythm, the Raiders never again hit above .100 in a set.

Navy closed the comeback with a 15-9 victory.

Eike Leads a Balanced Navy Attack

Eike’s 24 kills were six more than any other player in the match. She also recorded two service aces, two blocks and 13 digs, giving Navy contributions in nearly every phase of the match.

Buffum provided another major offensive option with 15 kills, while Gundlach finished with 11. Those three combined for 50 of Navy’s 65 kills, accounting for more than three-quarters of the Midshipmen’s offensive production.

Navy also received strong production from its setters. Isa Boyd distributed 26 assists, while Kinamoni Jerome added 24. Chambers contributed eight assists in addition to her team-leading defensive performance.

The Midshipmen finished with 65 kills compared with 52 for Colgate. Navy also held advantages of 63-48 in assists and 70-59 in digs, although Colgate led 13-9 in blocks and 5-3 in service aces.

Chambers Anchors the Defense

The offensive turnaround received plenty of attention, but Navy could not have completed the comeback without a significant defensive improvement.

Chambers led all Navy players with 21 digs. Eike added 13, while Jerome finished with eight as the Midshipmen increasingly frustrated a Colgate attack that had been nearly unstoppable during the opening two sets.

Avery Maddux led Navy at the net with six blocks. Burgoyne and Eike each contributed two as the Midshipmen totaled nine blocks as a team.

Colgate’s Tiana Owens still put together a strong match with 18 kills, while Aubrey Anders recorded 11. Hannah Langton led the Raiders with 20 digs, and Stella Labrecque produced seven blocks as Colgate totaled a season-high 13.

But Navy’s ability to reduce Colgate’s hitting efficiency ultimately became one of the biggest differences in the match.

The Raiders hit .395 in the first set and .448 in the second. They followed those numbers by hitting negative-.038, .088 and .077 over the final three sets.

That was the match.

Navy’s Offense Finds Another Level

Navy’s improvement was nearly the mirror image.

The Midshipmen hit .143 in the opening set and .200 in the second. Facing elimination, they improved to .391 in the third, then hit .189 in the fourth before finishing at .333 in the decisive fifth.

Navy ended the afternoon with a .230 overall hitting percentage compared with .209 for Colgate. That final margin does not completely demonstrate how different the match looked during its two distinct halves.

Through two sets, Colgate appeared firmly in control. Over the final three, Navy dictated play.

The Midshipmen outscored the Raiders 65-44 across sets three through five after being outscored 50-32 over the first two.

A Long-Awaited Win Over Colgate

The victory carried significance well beyond Navy beginning Patriot League play 1-0.

Navy had lost nine consecutive matches to Colgate before Friday. The Midshipmen’s previous victory over the Raiders came Oct. 7, 2022.

Winning at Cotterell Court had been even more difficult.

Navy entered Friday having lost 10 consecutive matches against Colgate in Hamilton. Its previous road victory in the series came Nov. 3, 2018.

The comeback also marked Navy’s first reverse sweep since Nov. 11, 2023, when the Midshipmen rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat Army.

That made Friday much more than an ordinary conference-opening victory. Navy ended multiple lengthy streaks simultaneously while doing so in one of the most difficult ways possible.

Midshipmen Start Patriot League Play With Momentum

Navy entered conference play after a challenging nonconference schedule produced a 2-6 record. The Midshipmen had, however, won their final nonconference match against Maryland Eastern Shore in four sets, giving the team something positive to build on before heading north for its opening Patriot League weekend.

Friday’s victory ensured that momentum continued.

Navy subsequently swept Holy Cross the following afternoon to complete a 2-0 opening weekend in Patriot League play. The Midshipmen emerged from the road trip 4-6 overall and 2-0 in the conference heading into home matches against Lafayette and Bucknell.

The Colgate victory, however, will be difficult to top for pure drama.

Navy lost the opening two sets by a combined 18 points, faced a team it had not beaten in nearly four years and was playing in a gym where it had not won since 2018. The Midshipmen responded by winning three consecutive sets and holding Colgate below a .100 hitting percentage in each of them.

MSB Take

This was exactly the type of victory that can give a team confidence entering conference play. Navy did not simply win a close five-set match. The Midshipmen had every reason to believe the afternoon was slipping away after Colgate dominated the opening two sets, yet they completely changed the match beginning in the third.

Eike was outstanding. Her 24 kills were impressive on their own, but producing five in the fifth set and ending the match herself made the performance even more significant. Buffum and Gundlach gave Navy additional offensive options, while Chambers’ 21 digs helped change the defensive complexion of the match.

The most encouraging statistic may be Colgate’s hitting percentages over the final three sets. After allowing the Raiders to hit .395 and .448 in the first two, Navy held them to negative-.038, .088 and .077. That is a dramatic in-match adjustment and explains how a match that initially appeared headed toward a quick Colgate sweep became a Navy victory.

Ending a nine-match losing streak to Colgate, a 10-match skid in Hamilton and recording the program’s first reverse sweep since 2023 made this a memorable way to begin Patriot League play. Navy was pushed to the edge after two sets and responded by playing its best volleyball of the afternoon when there was no longer any room for error.

The Midshipmen left Hamilton with much more than a 3-2 victory. They left with evidence that this team can absorb adversity, adjust and respond.