It’s that time of year for the senior volleyball players to say goodbye to their home court. This year’s senior night didn’t end in their favor. The IU Southeast volleyball team was swept by St. Catharine on Senior Night, (25-20, 25-22, 25-20) on Thursday, Oct. 30 in the Activities Building.

“It sucks we didn’t get a victory tonight, but we played very hard,” senior setter, Meaghan Thompkins said. “We were in every set all the way until the end.”

The Grenadiers were led by freshman outside hitter, Michala Beasley’s who had 10 kills. Senior middle blocker, Sara Schum, had seven and senior outside hitter, Kristyn Maymon chipped in with five. Tompkins led the Grenadiers with 17 assists and senior defensive specialist, Stephanie Bradshaw had 21 digs, which keeps the Grenadiers seventh in the NAIA with 18.5 digs per game.

“We played extremely hard,” head coach Eric Brian said. “The great thing about tonight is that everyone stepped up, from the seniors all the way to the freshman.”

St. Catharine pulled away from the Grenadiers in the first set to jump out to an early lead. In the second set, IU Southeast led 16-14 before the Patriots went on an 8-2 run to take control of the set. In the final frame, the set was tied at 18 before St. Catharine scored seven of the final 11 points to close out the match.

This year, IU Southeast athletics will be saying goodbye to four very important parts of this team, and to the university. Thompkins, Bradshaw, Maymon and Schum are the four seniors. Brian said that they are going to be missed next season.

“These four seniors mean a lot to me,” said Brian. “Not only did they do their job on the court, the seniors did their job in the classroom.”

All four seniors were recognized at center court before the game. Each received a framed uniform and a plaque. Brian said that his team has played real hard in every game the past week and a half.

“It’s good to play this hard, this late in the year,” Brian said. “It puts us in a good position for the KIAC Conference tournament.”

Last year, the Grenadiers went to the championship game, but lost. That was the first year Brian was the head coach of the Grenadiers. The Grenadiers are looking for another chance to bring that title to New Albany.

After losing on senior night, the Grenadiers bounced back and won two road games. The first win came against conference rival Cincinnati Christian University in five sets (25-23,25-23,13-25,20-25,9-15).

That win put the Grenadiers at 7-3 in the conference and keeps the Grenadiers one game behind third place. With this being the last conference game of the year, this win makes it even more important, because the place teams finish in the conference determines the seed they get in the tournament.

The second win of the day was against the University of Pikeville Bears (27-25,27-25,25-18).