Alabama volleyball defeated the Colgate Raiders in five sets on Saturday, capping a 3-0 weekend at the Buffalo Invite in Buffalo, New York.

The Crimson Tide won the opening two sets, 25-21 and 25-19. Colgate rallied to even the match by winning the third set 29-27 and the fourth 25-16. Alabama held a 7-6 lead in the fifth set and closing out the win with an 8-3 run, taking the final set 15-9

“The key to our run down the stretch was getting the setters to understand how we were scoring,” head coach Lindsey Devine said in a press release. “We needed to put a lot of confidence in all our attackers. At different moments throughout the fifth set, everyone contributed to the team’s success.”

Junior outside hitter Doris Carter led the team with 21 kills, adding 11 digs for her first double-double of the season. Freshman middle blocker Alyiah Wells hit .304 with nine kills along with a season-high six blocks.

Sophomore libero and defensive specialist Layne Stone recorded a career-high 10 digs, one of the three players in double digits. 

“The game can be simple if you go back to the basics. It all starts with first-ball contacts,” Devine said. “I thought that throughout the entire weekend our defensive players came in, served well and passed well and that built a lot of the momentum for our team.”

Senior outside hitter Ginger Perinar and junior libero Kaylee Thomas were named to the All-Tournament team and Wells was named the tournament MVP.  

Next weekend Alabama (3-0) will head to Richmond, Virginia for three matches at the VCU Invitational. The Crimson Tide will open up at 10 a.m. against Navy and will continue at 5 p.m. against VCU on Friday, Sept. 6. It will conclude the tournament against NC State at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7.