WATERVILLE, Maine — In front of a lively Crook Center crowd on Friday night, Colby returned to the Hill and edged Bowdoin 3–2 (25–17, 19–25, 25–22, 24–26, 15–12) to log the program's fifth win over the Polar Bears in the past four years and move to 11–1 Overall and 1–1 NESCAC.
Colby seized the tone early in the first set. Back-to-back kills from
Emma Davis and aces from
Cyanne Jones blew open Set 1, and
Sarah Friedrichs slammed the door with a final kill to reach 25–17. Bowdoin counterpunched in Set 2 behind a tough service run to level the match, 25–19. he Mules reasserted themselves in the third when
Gabby Grujic's pressure at the line and timely kills from Davis and
Brady Moseley carried a 25–22 finish. Set four was a tug-of-war with late chances for the Mules, but Bowdoin staved off match point and secured it, 26–24, despite a key Colby contributon from
Sarah Friedrichs and Jones during the rally. In the race to 15, Colby's poise from the service line proved decisive.
Reese Loyd and
Jordan Lee popped early aces to spark a 5–1 lead but Bowdoin clawed back to 7–7. However, the Mules landed the final blows:
Sydney Bopp floated an ace for 10–8, Grujic added another for 13–9, and
Alli McKenney sealed the night with a walk-off ace for 15–12.
Moseley led the offense for the Mules with 18 kills,
Emma Davis added 11, and
Cyanne Jones chipped in seven. From the service line,
Reese Loyd delivered five aces,
Jordan Lee added four, and
Gabby Grujic tallied three. At the net,
Alexa Peguero,
Sydney Bopp, and Jones each finished with 2.0 blocks. Grujic steered the offense with 27 assists, Lee supplied 19, and Loyd contributed five. Defensively, Loyd posted a team-best 22 digs, with Moseley at 16 and
Alli McKenney at 14.
Next up for Colby is a home NESCAC weekend with Hamilton on Friday, October 3 at 7:00 p.m., followed by Amherst on Saturday, October 4 at 2:00 p.m.