WATERVILLE, Maine. — Colby opened its NESCAC Championship run with a sweep of seventh-seeded Connecticut College 25–11, 25–11, 25–16 on November 8 in front of a packed Margaret M. Crook Center. Just a week removed from their 3–1 road win over the Camels, the second-seeded Mules left no doubt in the quarterfinal rematch with a dominant block, and a hyper-efficient offense to move to 22–2 overall and 9–1 against conference opponents this season.
From the first points of set one, Colby's block and backcourt defense set the tone. The Mules raced out to an early cushion as Brady Moseley, Hayley Beigh, and Kendall Glover terminated in transition while the front line funneled Connecticut College into high-risk swings. In the first set, Colby tallied with 13 kills at a .333 clip. By the time the set closed at 25–11, the pattern of the match was already clear—Colby was dictating tempo and first contact on nearly every rally.
The second set only intensified that control. With the offense humming, the Mules hit .375 (15 kills, 3 errors on 32 swings) and continued to stress the Camels from the service line. Reese Loyd chipped in an early ace and steady serve-receive, allowing setters Sydney DeProfio and Gabby Grujic to run a varied offense that kept Conn's block off balance. Ingrid Zahn and Moseley took turns scoring out of system, Beigh continued to find seams, and Marjorie Johnson added quick-hitting options that froze blockers. Although Connecticut College found a little more rhythm on offense, finishing with 8 kills in the set, Colby's block forced enough errors to hold the Camels to just .077, and the Mules again pulled away for another 25–11 win. In the third, Colby's depth and defense finished the job. With Alli McKenney ripping off a 10-serve run while anchoring the back row, and Jones, Glover, and Johnson forming a formidable wall at the net, the Mules built a double-digit lead on another extended stretch of sideouts and transition points. Colby continued to score efficiently at .304 (10 kills on 23 swings). Late in the set, Zahn and Moseley put down key kills on high hands, and the block snuffed out any hint of a Camel comeback as the Mules closed out the sweep, 25–16.
The stat line reflects just how comprehensively Colby controlled the quarterfinal. As a team, the Mules hit a blistering .341 with 38 kills and only 10 errors on 82 swings, while holding Connecticut College to -.019 (21 kills, 23 errors on 105 attempts). The block was a major separator: Colby recorded 10 total blocks to just one for Conn, led by Cyanne Jones with 6.0 blocks, Glover with 4.0, and Johnson adding 4.0 of her own. At the net, Zahn paced the offense with a match-high 11 kills, Moseley added seven, and Glover chipped in six. From the service line, the Mules owned a 6–2 edge in aces, with Jones dropping in three, Grujic adding two, and Loyd contributing one. In the setting corps, DeProfio ran the show for long stretches and finished with 21 assists while Grujic added 15. Defensively, the Mules more than held their own in the backcourt as well, out-digging the Camels 51–29; McKenney led all players with 12 digs followed by Loyd with eight.
With the win, the second-seeded Mules advance to the NESCAC semifinals on Friday, November 14, where they will face Williams College in a semifinal showdown.
