Volleyball wins NCAA Regional, Advances to Elite 8
Returning to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year, the Mules made quick work in their opener (win over Marymount 3-0) before knocking out #24 Babson and #12 Wesleyan, both five set matches.
Colby and Babson traded opening sets Friday before the Beavers pulled ahead winning the third. With their backs against the wall, Colby dominated the fourth set (25-10) and pulled away late in the fifth set to advance to the Sweet 16.
Brady Moseley led the team with 14 kills while Cyanne Jones was a force at the net with eight blocks. Kendall Glover tallied the final three points for the Mules as Colby took a 10-10 tie in the fifth set to a 15-11 win.
The Mules had plenty of familiarity with Saturday's Regional Championship opponent, as they faced a Wesleyan team for the sixth time in the last four seasons. The Cardinals looked to take advantage of their home court early (Wesleyan has played their last 11 matches at home), winning the first two sets for a 2-0 lead.
Once again with their backs against the wall, the Mules won the third, fourth, and then fifth sets to complete the reverse sweep and return to the Elite 8 for the first time since Colby won the regional bracket in 2005. The fifth and final set was true domination, taking leads of 8-4 and 12-5 to the finish line for a 15-7 win.
Moseley posted a double-double with 17 kills and 18 digs while Glover had her best performance of her young career with 15 kills and eight blocks. Jones and Alexa Peguero also reached double-digits in kills with 12 and 10 respectively. Glover was named tournament MVP as the Mules celebrated their ticket punched to the final stage.
Colby will take its 26-3 record to Bloomington, Ill. for the remaining rounds of the NCAA Tournament Dec. 3-6, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University. The Mules face off against #14 Trinity University (TX) on Wednesday, December 3 at 11:30am (CST).
Cross Country Competes in S.C. at NCAA Championships
The Colby Men's Cross Country team placed 31st at the NCAA Championships and Ada Grant competed as Colby's lone women's competitor this past weekend. The race was hosted by Converse University in Spartanburg, S.C.
Men's Individual Finishes, 8k:
- 169th - Chris Gould, 25:46.5
- 221st - Danny Reyes, 26:10.9
- 234th - Liam McGoldrick, 26:18.1
- 241st - Eli Ziegler, 26:22.0
- 242nd - Stephen White, 26:24.0
The USTFCCCA honored their All-Region members this week, and seven Mules made the cut.
The Cross Country teams will take a brief window to recover and regroup before starting their Indoor Track & Field season December 5-6 hosting the Elm City Classic.
Moseley NESCAC Player of the Year, Football Takes Coaching Staff of the Year to Headline NESCAC Awards
After releasing Soccer and Field Hockey Awards a week ago, the NESCAC took care this week to announce their conference awards for Volleyball and Football. Brady Moseley's Player of the Year honor highlighted a group of five Mules recognized for Volleyball, and Colby's Football Staff of the Year honor led the way for nine Mules to be recognized for the football program.
With a collective 19 Fall awards (nine for football, five for volleyball, four for women's soccer, and one for field hockey) Colby is on pace to shatter last year's all-time high mark of 57 (all three seasons combined).
Men’s Basketball Rolls Through Three Game Week, Improves to 4-0
Three games in four days didn’t slow Colby down, as the Mules delivered three impressive wins to keep their unbeaten start intact.
Colby opened its busy week with a dominant 96–73 win over Thomas on the road, lighting it up from deep and getting contributions from 11 different players. Mitch Humphrey led the way with a 7-for-8 shooting night from three, finishing with 21 points. Dan Civello was a force inside with a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double, while Savion Stroud added 14 points. The Mules piled up 20 assists on 32 made field goals and got 35 points from the bench, cruising to a convincing victory.
Two days later to begin the Colby Classic tournament, the Mules gutted out a hard-fought 59–58 win versus Suffolk in a defensive battle. Despite shooting just 30% from the field, the Mules controlled the glass 41–29 and generated 16 points off turnovers to stay in it. Marcos Montiel paced the offense with 15 points and four steals, Civello added 11 and seven rebounds, and Sam Hinman provided a boost off the bench with eight. After eight lead changes and five ties, Colby’s defense came up with one final stop in the closing seconds to seal the one-point win.
The Mules closed the week with its biggest win of the young season, knocking off 6-0 Endicott 93–89 behind a monster performance from Civello. The junior delivered a career-high 35 points on 13-of-20 shooting, including seven threes. Max Poulton (16 points, five assists) and Montiel (15 points, nine rebounds, six assists) kept the offense humming as the Mules built a lead as large as 22. The Gulls made a late push, but Colby’s elite shooting, 16 threes at 55%, and balanced ball movement carried them to a perfect 3-0 week and a 4-0 start to the season.
Civello was named NESCAC Player of the Week for his efforts.
Men’s Basketball will be back in action Tuesday at Lasell University.
Women’s Basketball Takes Care of Rivier and Rutgers-Camden
The Mules ran their record to 4-0 this week, collecting two wins with sharp shooting, strong defense, and balanced contributions from the bench.
Hosting Rivier, the Mules dominated from the opening tip, jumping out to a 18-point first-quarter lead and controlling the contest the rest of the way. Kate Olenik (headline photo) scored the first 11 points in the game finishing with 22 points on 10-of-11 shooting in just 13 minutes of play. The Colby bench added 42 points led by Caroline Hartley with 12. The Mules shot 55.7% from the field and forced 28 turnovers, turning them into 37 points to cruise to a convincing 86-43 win. The team’s depth and defensive pressure set the tone throughout.
On the road in New Jersey, Colby built an early lead with efficient scoring and strong ball movement, then held off a late surge from Rutgers–Camden for a 62-54 victory. Olenik again led with 22 points, joined by Lydia Mordarski and Ana von Rumohr who combined for 19 points. The Mules limited the Raptors to just 15 first half points to help secure the victory. Their composure down the stretch allowed them to finish the week 2–0 and maintain an undefeated 4-0 start.
Olenik was named NESCAC Player of the Week for her efforts.
With their best record to start a season since 2021-22 when they began the campaign 6-0, Women’s Basketball will remain on the road facing Brooklyn College Tuesday night.
Women's Swimming & Diving Takes Out Trinity and Hamilton, Men's Team Earns Close Split
The Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving teams battled two familiar NESCAC foes in a tri-match Saturday in Hartford with the Women's team sweeping two victories. The Men's team topped Trinity but fell by the narrowest of margins to the Continentals, 132-129.
The women's team won two relays and nine individual events, including sweeps in the 100yd Freestyle and 100yd Butterfly. They also set four new pool records.
Women's Event Winners:
- 200yd Medley Relay: Tahlia Crowley, Kellen Mottl, Lexi Asch, Eliza Marco
- 200yd Freestyle Relay: Zoe Buzzelli, Lucy Mackey, Marco, Crowley
- 50yd Breaststroke: Mottl
- 50yd Freestyle: Marco
- 100yd Backstoke: Crowley
- 100yd Breaststroke: Mottl
- 100yd Butterfly: Asch
- 100yd Freestyle: Marco
- 200yd Freestyle: Buzzelli
- 1mtr Diving: Avery Rappaport
- 3mtr Diving: Rappaport
The men's team won one relay and six individual events. They also set two new pool records.
Men's Event Winners:
- 200yd Medley Relay: Brandon Xiong, Shepard Kerscher, Alex Ruckel-Bekefi, Brandon Morrison
- 50yd Butterfly: Ruckel-Bekefi
- 100yd Backstroke: Xiong
- 100yd Butterfly: Morrison
- 200yd Freestyle: Amaan Siddiqui
- 500yd Freestyle: Brendan Kirberger
- 1000yd Freestyle: Kirberger
The Mules are set to host the Maine State Meet December 6-7 after the holiday break.
Women’s Ice Hockey Opens Campaign with Split Against Polar Bears
Colby’s first taste of the 2025 season came against Bowdoin, with each team claiming a win in a series marked by aggressive play and standout performances.
Colby began the season at home with a 3–0 setback against Bowdoin. Despite multiple power-play opportunities, the Mules couldn’t find the back of the net, and Bowdoin capitalized in the second and third periods. Colby outshot the Polar Bears 37-27 but struggled to convert, and the visitors’ defensive pressure kept the Mules off the scoreboard.
The following day, Colby bounced back on the road with a thrilling 3-2 victory. Courtney Schumacher scored twice, including the opening goal on a power play, and Megan Martodam added the game-winner in the third period. The Mules with a three goal lead withstood a late Bowdoin rally of netting back to back goals in the final four minutes of regulation. Sophomore goaltender Ally Martiniello got the win totaling 16 saves in her first collegiate start.
Colby returns home on Tuesday for a matchup with the University of Southern Maine.
Bowdoin Edges Colby in Heated Rivalry Showdown
Colby Men’s Ice Hockey battled hard but fell 3-2 to the undefeated Polar Bears in a thrilling rivalry matchup at home in front of 1,200 fans.
The Mules struck first in the opening period with a goal from Colby Browne (second goal of his early collegiate career) assisted by Michael Buenzow and Massimo Gentile. Bowdoin answered with a power play goal halfway through the second frame but Tyler Crist gave Colby the lead back with a power play goal of his own seven minutes into the final period. Two minutes later the Polar Bears tied the game once again and eventually netted the game winner with three minutes to go in regulation.
Colby showed grit and nearly pulled off a comeback, but a combination of penalties and missed chances kept the team from evening the score in the end. Will Soloway had an assist in the contest while winning 14 of 18 faceoffs. Cooper Rautenstrauch finished with 30 saves in the contest.
The 2-1 Mules will matchup with Suffolk University Tuesday for their first road game of the season.
Squash Faces Off Against MIT, Wesleyan
Over the weekend the Men’s team battled #13 MIT Saturday before both Colby teams traveled to Middletown Sunday to matchup with Wesleyan.
Against the Engineers, in Boston for the second weekend in a row, the men fell 6-3 despite putting up a strong fight. Seif Ashraf, Hamza Wessam and Youssef Mostafa picked up the three wins for the Mules all in hard fought 3-2 battles. Sebastian Campos (headline photo) came up just short in a 3-2 battle ending in favor of MIT.
The Mules bounced back the next day against the Cardinals with both the men’s and women’s team winning 7-2 in NESCAC action. Ashraf, Wessam and Mostafa remained undefeated on the weekend while Carlos Zendejas, Omar Bastaway, Campos, and Tymofii Radionov picked up the other four individual victories. The women’s team also won in the top seven individual spots only losing one of those 22 games. Individual wins came from (in position order) Laavanya Kugan, Nathalie Sim, Abhisheka David, Maggie Motch, Tattie Gibbs, Amanda Miller, and Tori Thill.
Colby Squash will host their first match of the season December 6th against Dartmouth, their final match of 2025.
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.