written by: Brina Kuslak '22
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -The Wesleyan Cardinals came back strong off of a loss last weekend and swept Williams College in this Friday night NESCAC matchup. It was a hard fought game, but Wesleyan came out on top with scores of 29-27, 25-14, and 25-19.
This Friday night's competition puts Wesleyan at 6-2 in the NESCAC and 12-2 overall. Williams drops down to 11-2 overall and 5-2 in the NESCAC, but it is still anyone's season in terms of hosting prospects for the final NESCAC tournament.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
- It was evident from the beginning that both teams came ready to play and leave all they could on the court in Williamstown, MA. Both teams had leads in the first set, but final pushes at the end sent the set into extra points. This back and forth set ended in a score of 29-27.
- The Cardinals showed no signs of slowing down in set two and were able to get a nine point lead against the Ephs. Wesleyan capitalized on errors by Williams to widen the point spread and win the second set 25-14.
- Another fast start by the Cardinals was stopped short by a run of kills from the Ephs who took the lead to make it a close set of 16-18. A six point service run by middle Mariko Tanaka '24 brought Wesleyan back and led the Cardinals to a 25-19 victory and closing out the match.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Leading the attack for the Cardinals were Brina Kuslak '22 with 12 kills, Bella Ahearn '23 with nine kills, and an impressive outing by Kate Long '24 with nine kills as well. Tanaka had a solid serving game with five aces which is easily a season-high for any Cardinal in a match this season
- Defensive specialists Kiana Yuhl '25 and Grace Bell '23 led Wesleyan in digs with 14 and 10, respectively
- The leaders for the Ephs were Celia Adams with 10 kills and three blocks, Lydia Kurtz with seven kills and 13 digs, and setter Lauren Kauppila with 33 assists, two kills, and five digs.
UP NEXT
- Your Wesleyan Cardinals are on the road again with a doubleheader against NESCAC competitor Hamilton and a neutral site, non-conference match with St. Lawrence on Saturday, October 16th at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM. Tune into the live streams to support Wesleyan Volleyball.
