By Julie Brooks, '08 |Staff reporter

The volleyball team capped off its first NCAA Div. III season Oct. 25 with a hard-fought loss to Cazenovia College.

The scores were as follows; 26-30, 30-32, 30-19, 17-30. It was an exciting, nerve-wracking match that could easily have gone either way. The Mustangs had the lead in the first game by 9 points, but Cazenovia came back to take the game.

In the second game the teams were neck-and-neck, but Cazenovia jumped ahead by two. The third game was a well-deserved win for the Mustangs; they played an almost flawless match and showed Cazenovia what a tough competitor Morrisville really is. The last game was a bit of a setback with a 17-30 loss, but close calls that could have gone either way made it an uphill battle for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs ended their season with a 3-18 record and enough experience to ensure a successful season next year. The team will lose very few players to graduation this year so the skills and team bond that was formed over the season will not be lost.

From the start of the season, Coach Jennifer Costello said this year would be about team building and learning experiences, which is just what it turned out to be. The Mustangs fought an uphill battle all year long playing much larger schools that have had established NCAA Volleyball teams for years.

Costello announced her resignation as coach in a campus e-mail this week. “While I believe that I am moving for the best interests of my educational and professional careers,” she wrote, “I am indebted to this institution. I thank everyone whom I have worked with for the support and guidance that has helped not only me, but the volleyball program as a whole.

“Morrisville State College has allowed me to unite a group of thirteen strangers into one unit, who has worked continuously with heart and passion to rebuild a program that has promise for a successful future.

“I am grateful for the opportunity that I have been given to share my love for coaching and the sport of volleyball. The experience that I have gained here will be carried with me wherever my career may lead me. Not only will I miss this enjoyable and educational experience, I will deeply miss my co-workers, the art of coaching and of course my student-athletes,” Costello wrote.

Robert Green Ingersoll once said, “the greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.” the Mustangs Volleyball team embodied that quote this season. They are a team with heart; they kept faith in themselves and their abilities throughout the year and finished the season with their heads held high.