BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland's Ann Ernst and Haley Puddy combined for 29 kills, and the Greyhounds swept visiting Colgate University, 25-20, 25-23, 25-20 for Loyola's first four-match Patriot League winning streak since joining the conference for the 2013 season.
 
Ernst hit .265 from the outside with a match-high 15 kills, while Puddy swung at a .393 clip, posting 14 kills with only three errors. As a unit, the Greyhounds (10-11 overall, 5-3 Patriot League) hit .244, buoyed by a .361 mark in the third and final set.
 
Loyola's five wins in conference play through eight league games are tied for the most the Greyhounds have tallied since moving into the Patriot League.
 
The match was close throughout as the teams combined for 27 tie scores and 10 lead changes in just three sets, but Loyola's ability to consistently sideout – 60 percent to the Raiders' 50 – helped push it to a win.
 
Colgate (9-11, 4-4) led by four, 6-2, early in the first set, but Loyola tied the stanza at 8-8 and eventually took a 10-9 lead on an Abby Hamilton kill. The lead tilted back-and-forth twice and was tied four times before an Ernst kill made it 15-14, starting a 6-0 Greyhounds run that extended the led to 20-14 on an Ernst service ace.
 
Colgate sided out with an Alex Stein kill, the first of three-straight by the Raiders' hitter. Stein's third kill of the stretch brought Colgate to within three, 20-17, and consecutive attack errors by Loyola made it a one-point gap, but Puddy put away an overpass for a sideout at 21-19.
 
Puddy then teamed with Molly Jarvis for a block, and Hamilton had a kill to get Loyola within two points of winning the set. A hitting error prolonged the match for Colgate, but a Puddy kill and Raiders attack error ended it with the Greyhounds in front.
 
The Raiders controlled the middle portion of the second set, building a 19-15 lead after a Loyola service error, two hitting miscues and a Greyhounds' blocking error. Puddy, however, was again there for a sideout kill, the first of four-straight Loyola would score. Hamilton had two kills during the run, the last pushing the Greyhounds on top, 20-19.
 
Colgate and Loyola were tied at 20, 21, 22 and 23 before Cat Vaccaro and Ernst had back-to-back kills, giving Loyola a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Greyhounds again trailed early in the third, going down by three in the first seven points, but they chipped away to lead 10-9 on a Hamilton kill. Colgate quickly swung back in front, and a Taylor Flaherty gave the Raiders a 14-12 advantage before Vaccaro and Puddy had kills, and Ernst put away three kills in four points to make it 17-15 Greyhounds.
 
A Loyola service error and a Colgate ace tied things up at 17-all, but Puddy had a kill, followed by a Hamilton-Jarvis block, and Katie Forsythe scored on an ace to build a 20-17 Greyhounds advantage.
 
Colgate sided out on a Loyola attack error, and Flaherty put away a kill, but Hamilton swung the serve back to Loyola's favor with a kill to make it 21-19.
 
Alli Lowe had one of her team-high 10 kills for Colgate on the next point, making it a one-point set, but that was the Raiders' last point of the afternoon.
 
Jarvis had two kills in a row, and she scored on a block with Vaccaro to give Loyola match-point before Ernst closed the contest with her 15^th kill.
 
In addition to the 29 kills from Ernst and Puddy, Hamilton had nine, and Vaccaro added six. The Greyhounds put away nine blocks in the three sets, led by Jarvis' five and Alisah Cash's three. Forsythe led all players with 20 digs, while Hamilton finished with 12. Alex Fisher had a match-best 24 assists for Loyola.
 
The Greyhounds continue their homestand with a Friday, October 19 match against Lafayette College at 7 p.m. in Reitz Arena.