This weekend, the Raiders fell to Patriot League leader American in four sets. But on Senior Day, the last game for the seniors, Colgate volleyball swept the Loyola Greyhounds. The match honored four seniors: defensive specialist Hannah Donnelly, right side Mari Faines, middle blocker Diane Seely and middle blocker Kenzie Hume. 

Colgate started out strong in the first set against American with an 11-5 lead. They pushed that lead to an 18-11 advantage. Then American went on a 4-1 run which brought the score to 19-15. A kill from junior outside hitter Katie Fauntleroy started a 6-1 point run that secured a 25-16 win for the Raiders. 

American came back in the second set with a 25-21 win. With the score tied at 18, Eagles’ junior Sarah Kats earned two consecutive kills to spark a 7-3 run to take the set. 

The two teams were neck-and-neck throughout the third set. American held a 20-18 lead over Colgate before going on a 4-2 point run to push the score to 24-20, game point. The Raiders came back with two straight kills but a kill from the

Eagles gave them the 25-22 victory. 

Then in the fourth set, with the score tied at nine, American earned five consecutive points to start a 16-5 point run. With that spurt, the Eagles finished the match 3-1 with the final 25-14 win. 

Senior middle blocker Diane Seely led the Raiders with 11 kills, followed by Fauntleroy and sophomore outside hitter Kathleen Harris with eight each. Junior setter Jackie Macy and first-year setter Molly Smith both earned double-doubles in the match against American. Macy posted 16 assists and 11 digs, while Smith added 17 assists and 11 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist

Madison McAndrews added 19 digs as well. 

The next day on Senior Day, the Raiders took on Loyola seeking to end their season on a high note. Colgate started the first set with a 7-2 run. The Raiders pushed their lead to as many as seven before taking a 25-18 win. 

The second set was much closer with 14 ties and five lead changes overall. Although Loyola held an 18-12 lead, Seely got a kill to start an 8-2 point run to tie the set 20. The two teams traded points pushing the score to 23-all. Hume earned a kill followed by a Greyhounds’ unforced error to finish the game 25-23 Raiders. 

The Raiders’ momentum carried over in the third set, as they started off by taking 11 of the first 15 points. Colgate pushed its advantage to 16-8 before Loyola answered with five straight points to bring the score to 16-13. Yet, the Raiders didn’t let up and finished the set with a 25-20 victory to sweep the match. 

With the results from this weekend, Colgate concluded regular season play with a 7-2 record overall at home. Seely finished her collegiate career with a total of 1,023 kills, placing her ninth on the Raiders’ all-time list. Further, that total makes her the 10th player in Colgate volleyball history to earn 1,000 kills. 

In the win over Loyola, Seely only had one attack error out of her 25 total attempts, contributing an impressive .400 hitting percentage. Overall, the Raiders had a .234 hitting percentage for the match from the 40 kills overall. Smith posted 16 assists and 10 digs, while Macy contributed 12

assists. McAndrews added nine digs as well. 

“I hope that my class leaves behind a legacy of competing and being relentless, and the acknowledgement that we have been the underdogs and that we’ve embraced that role and never stopped fighting,” Hume reflected upon the conclusion of the season.  

The Raiders finished their Patriot League season 9-7, and 15-11 overall, finishing just outside the top 4 qualification necessary for the Patriot League tournament.