The Colby volleyball team finished a remarkable season at 37-4 after losing 3-0 to defending national champion Juniata College in an NCAA Division III quarterfinal match. The Mules started slowly with a 30-13 loss in the opening game, but Colby had two match points with a 29-27 lead in the second game only to see the Eagles score four straight for a 31-29 win. Juniata closed the match out with a 30-16 win in the third game. Full story

NCAA Championship Round Website (scores, news and teams)
NCAA Regional Website (scores, news and teams)

Colby Magazine takes a look back at the historic 2005 season

2005 CSTV/AVCA National Division III Women's Volleyball Coaches Poll

2005 New England Division III Women's Volleyball Poll

Head coach Candice Parent and the Colby volleyball team had a dream season in 2005.

NESCAC champions, NCAA New England Regional champions, a 37-4 record, an unbeaten record in NESCAC during the regular season. The list went on and on for the Mules.

The NESCAC tourney championship title and the New England regional title happened in front of big crowds at Colby's Wadsworth Gymnasium. After going 10-0 in league play during the regular season, the volleyball team hosted the NESCAC tourney November 4-6. The Mules won three straight matches, including the title match win over Tufts University, to earn Colby's first NESCAC title in any sport in a round-robin tournament format (the 2003 women's crew won Colby's first NESCAC title by finishing first among NESCAC schools at the ECAC meet).

Colby earned its first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament bid by winning the NESCAC tourney. The Mules followed that excitement by hosting the NCAA New England Regional the following weekend. The Mules once again won three straight matches, including another victory over Tufts in the regional final. An enthusiastic crowd of more than 1,000 fans watched the win over the Jumbos.

The Mules' season finally ended in the NCAA quarterfinals with a loss to defending national champion Juniata College in Salem, Virginia. Colby finished the year ranked 19th in the country in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll.

Senior tri-captain Cait Cleaver became the first Colby volleyball player to earn All-America third team honors. Cleaver had been named an honorable mention All-American after her sophomore season. She finished as Colby's all-time leader in kills (1,562) and defensive digs (1,648).

Senior tri-captain Kaitlin Adams earned honorable mention All-America honors after leading the NESCAC in hitting percentage at .378. Adams finished her career as the all-time hitting percentage leader (.333). She finished with a team-best 135 blocks this year and had 425 kills.

Adams and Cleaver both earned New England All-Region and NESCAC first team honors. Megan Devlin (388 kills, 576 digs), Mariah Daly (295 kills), Jenny Lawrence (1,473 assists) and Kendall Kirby (118 aces, 764 digs) also had big years for the Mules.

Colby's success helped Parent earn New England Region and NESCAC Coach of the Year honors.

Colby will have a core group of five experienced seniors on the roster for the 2005 season, having lost only one senior to graduation. After some extremely heartfelt losses to top programs in New England, Colby' veterans are ready to prove that they are capable of competing with anyone in the region and are willing to work to make sure they finish on the winning side of those matches this season.

The team will continue to look to senior tri-captains Kaitlin Adams (Athol, Mass.), Caitlin Cleaver (Kennett Square, Pa.), and Megan Devlin (Branford, Conn.) for leadership on the court both offensively and defensively. The trio combined for more than 70 percent of Colby' offense in 2004. However, senior right-side hitter Mariah Daly (Baltimore, Md.) came on strong at the end of the 2004 season as she proved to be a clutch hitter in many matches. After putting in a year of collegiate setting experience, Colby setters Jennifer Radcliffe, a senior (Eugene, Ore.), and sophomore Cassie Sancartier (Haverhill, Mass.) will look to run a more diversified and consistent offense with this group of powerful hitters.

First-year Meredith Lawler (Lynnfield, Mass.) is expected to add depth to Colby' offense in the middle. That will allow junior Julie Hike (Falmouth, Mass.) to move to the right side and take advantage of her strong blocking skills. She led the Mules with nearly one block per game last year.

About Wadsworth Gymnasium