Volleyball Takes Out #23 Tufts, Celebrates Senior Day with Sweep of Bates
With wins over Tufts and Bates on Senior Weekend, the 11th-ranked Colby Volleyball team ran its win streak to eight straight matches ahead of a big road trip against top-five teams next weekend.
Despite dropping the opening set against Tufts Friday night, Colby rattled off wins in the second, third, and fourth sets (25-22, 25-16, 25-22) to defeat the Jumbos for the third straight year. Marjorie Johnson led the Mules with a season-high 15 kills. Colby delivered a major presence at the net with 18 total blocks led by Kendall Glover and Cyanne Jones (headline photo) with five blocks apiece.
In Saturday's matchup with the Bobcats Colby took three straight sets (26-24, 25-19, 25-21). Brady Moseley had her fourth double-double in the last seven matches with 14 kills and 15 digs.
20 different Mules reached the court and seven seniors celebrated a four-year career that has seen their record go from 14-9 as first-years to 17-1 this season. The group has collected 78 wins over their careers.
The Colby Volleyball team is now ranked second in the NESCAC standings behind only Wesleyan. The Mules will head out of region next weekend for three big matchups against Augustana, #3 Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and #4 Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Football Earns Gritty Win Over Amherst
Looking to get back to .500, the Colby Football team faced one of its stiffest tests of the year in the Amherst Mammoths. With a 4-1 record, Amherst's only setback came in an overtime defeat in week 1.
The Mules got on the board early after Brody Rice stepped in front of Amherst's second pass of the game, returning the interception inside the red zone. Two plays later Miles Drake bulldozed in from the one for a 7-0 lead.
The Mammoths evened the score midway through the second to head into the break knotted at seven.
Colby used another explosive play to jump back in front late in the third quarter. Corey Aubuchon blocked an Amherst punt deep in the Mammoth end and returned his own block 13 yards to paydirt. A missed extra point had Colby ahead 13-7.
Amherst kept moving the ball deep into the Colby end but couldn't convert for points, turning the ball over on downs on three of their final four possessions. Their only points of the second half came on a Colby holding penalty in the end zone, resulting in a safety.
For the second time in the last three weeks, the game came down to the final play for the Mules. Amherst began their final drive with just over a minute remaining and moved the ball all the way to Colby's three-yard line. Drew Ramos and Nicholas Cox defended passes on second and third down, and a final Mammoth attempt floated long as the buzzer sounded.
Eli Soehren was a major weapon for the Mules in this game of field position. The junior punted 11 times for an average of 42.3 ypp, landing five inside the 20, including kicks downed at the one and two-yard lines. Soehren earned NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts.
The Colby Football team is now 3-3, good for fifth in the NESCAC. the Mules will host Hamilton (1-5) next weekend on Homecoming Saturday.
Mules Roll Past Maine Maritime and Trinity for Two-Win Week
The Colby Women’s Soccer team grabbed two road victories this week, taking down the Mariners 3–1 on Wednesday before rolling past the Bantams 4–1 on Saturday.
At Maine Maritime, Amirthini Vithiananthan opened the scoring late in the first half off an assist from Avery Del Col. Del Col later set up Abigail Jarvi, and Claire Walsh buried a penalty kick to seal the 3–1 win. The Mules controlled the game from start to finish, outshooting the Mariners 22–5.
Colby carried that momentum into Hartford, where the offense erupted for four goals against Trinity. Jarvi got things started early with her ninth of the year (tied for the most in the NESCAC), followed by Madison Genser to give Colby a 2–0 lead at the break. After Trinity pulled one back, Amanda Schneider and Walsh each added second-half goals to secure the 4–1 victory.
The Mules now stand at 8–2–3 overall and 4–2–2 in NESCAC play (good for 4th place) with just two key conference games remaining on the regular season slate. They will host Wesleyan this weekend for Homecoming.
Field Hockey Earns 2–1 Win Over Trinity
The Mules made the most of their lone game of the week, earning a close 2–1 win in Hartford over the Bantams on Saturday.
Abby Morrill put the Mules on the board in the second quarter with her first career goal, and Bridget Everett followed with her fifth of the season to give Colby a 2–0 lead at halftime. Trinity cut the deficit in the third quarter, but the Mules’ defense held strong the rest of the way to secure the victory.
Ginna Jacoby added four more saves to her season total as she ranks at the top of the NESCAC in saves per game (7.30) and second in the conference in total stops (73).
With the win, Colby improves to 5-7 overall and is set to face Thomas across town tonight at 7:00pm.
Men's Soccer Completes Non-Conference Schedule Undefeated
The Colby Men’s Soccer team earned a win and a draw this week, starting with a 2–0 road victory over Maine Maritime on Tuesday night before battling to a 1–1 tie at Trinity on Saturday.
Against the Mariners, Jude Gussen opened the scoring early off a one-touch pass setup from Chase Dolinko and Joseph Beshel. Leo Robison added another tally late in the first half with an assist from Ethan Soroca. The Mules controlled the match throughout, outshooting the Mariners 26–5 and holding a 7–1 advantage in corner kicks. Jackson Magee (headline photo) earned the shutout win recording two saves in the contest.
At Trinity, Colby found late-game heroics to secure the draw. After the Bantams took a 1–0 lead midway through the second half, Ryan Stewart buried the equalizer in the 90th minute to earn the Mules a point on the road.
With the results, Colby improves to 5–4–4 overall and has two NESCAC games remaining on the regular season schedule. They will host Wesleyan Saturday afternoon.
Crew Battles in Historic Head of the Charles Regatta
The Mules traveled to Cambridge this weekend for the world’s largest three-day rowing event attracting 11,000 competitors and 400,000 spectators with racing dating all the way back to 1965. Both the Men’s and Women’s team competed in the collegiate eight events on Sunday and were met with warm temps, clear skies, and light wind.
The women finished in 19th out of 37 fellow crews (18:17.521) guaranteeing them an entry into next year’s race. They topped Coast Guard's 'A' and 'B' boats, as well as Bowdoin 'A' and Skidmore 'A.'. On the men’s side of competition, they crossed the finish line in 23rd out of 42 competing shells (15:23.923) defeating fellow NESCAC foes Hamilton ‘A’ and Bowdoin ‘A’.
The Mules will wrap up the fall season this Saturday hosting the Fall CBB race at the Colby Hume Center.
The Mules Deliver Solid Performances at Conn. College Invitational
In their final race ahead of the NESCAC Championships, the Colby Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams faced a highly competitive field this past Saturday in New London.
The men totaled an 11th place finish (out of 34 teams) in their 8k race. Chris Gould led the way placing 39th individually (24:50.90) followed by Stephen White in 47th and Henry Reichle in 56th.
Men's 8k Individual Results:
- 39 - Chris Gould 24:50.90
- 47 - Stephen White 24:55.10
- 56 - Henry Reichle 25:01.80
- 107 - Danny Reyes 25:42.40
- 112 - Eli Ziegler 25:46.10
- 117 - Liam McGoldrick 25:49.20
- 153 - Gavin Greydon 26:18.10
- 171 - Curtis Leachman 5:19.30
On the women’s side, they finished as a team in 25th out of 33 teams in their 6k race. Ada Grant tallied the best individual finish for the Mules in 91st (22.38.20) followed closely by Abbey Wolfe and Maria DiBari.
Women’s 6k Individual Results:
- 91 - Ada Grant 22:38.20
- 138 - Abbey Wolfe 23:06.00
- 140 - Maria DiBari 23:07.90
- 167 - Alexandra Herman 23:25.30
- 186 - Kintla Thomas 23:39.30
- 204 - Brynne Robbins 23:52.00
- 231 - Sadie Abbott 24:31.80
The Mules will head right back to Conn. College after a week off for the Conference Championship on November 1st.
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Wendy Adam P'27, Bonnie Baker Photography, Stephen R. Clouthier, Alexis Coates '28, Traigh DeMasi '28, Steve Fuller @flyingpoint, Rob Hess, Nico Klementzos Photo, Peter Li '26, Jennifer Maguire P'26, Michael Maher, Logan Marku '28, Reese Robinson '27, Daryn Slover P'28, Marty Thornton Photos, Isadora Wells '26, Ansley White '26, and the Colby Communications team.