Colby volleyball ended a solid season with a loss to top-seeded Bowdoin College in the quarterfinals of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) playoff tournament. The eighth-seeded Mules were defeated in three straight sets in their match on Friday, Nov. 4 in Brunswick, Maine.

Coach Candice Parent called the loss “a balanced offensive effort,” as each Mule fought hard against their rival school. Senior captain Caitlin Burchill had 10 kills and 10 digs in the match, bringing her career total to 1,119 defensive digs and 656 kills.

Senior co-captain Mackie Sewall ended her career as a Mule with 367 kills and 125 blocks over the course of her three years on the team.

Junior Maggie Taylor finished Friday’s match with six kills and sophomores Kate Pleasants and Lily Kramlich-Taylor had five kills each. On defense, junior Emily Varni led the team with 16 digs, while Taylor and Pleasants each had 10 digs in the match.

Colby started off the first set of the match a little disorganized, giving Bowdoin a number of free points. “We really did not pass the ball well in those first two sets, and that limited us offensively,” Parent said. However, the Mules did manage to hold their own defensively and made Bowdoin fight for points. Parent continued, “It felt as though we played one of the scrappiest matches we have played all year. There were some unbelievable rallies and incredible defensive digs by just about everyone on our team.”

Reaffirming her satisfaction with the team’s performance against Bowdoin, who went on to win the NESCAC title, Parent said, “We really went down fighting.”

The loss ended what has been a great season for the Mules, who made the playoffs with their 3-1 win over Wesleyan University on Oct. 29. “It was great to be back in the NESCAC tournament,” Parent said, “and well-deserved by this team, as they have worked very hard in the off-season.” The Mules finished the season 11-15 overall and 3-7 in the NESCAC.