ROCHESTER, N.Y. – For the second time in program history, the Wesleyan volleyball team is advancing to an NCAA Regional Final. Facing the host RIT Tigers on Saturday night, the Cardinals posted their second 3-0 sweep of the weekend, winning by a set score line of 26-24, 25-21, 25-18 on their way to a convincing NCAA Tournament win. Wesleyan (19-6) advances to Sunday's Regional Final where they will meet No. 7 nationally-ranked Juniata (30-1) at 1 PM for a chance to advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals.
 
The Cardinal offense continued to fire on all cylinders, smashing 46 kills against just nine errors for a .325 attack percentage on the evening including a third set that saw Wesleyan commit 0 attack errors while putting away 16 kills for an impressive .516 attack percentage. Bella Ahearn '23 matched her season-high, finishing just one off her career-high with 17 kills while she committed just two errors in the match. Maddie Kurke '22 backed up her 21-kill effort last night against Scranton (Wesleyan NCAA Tournament record) with another great outing, recording 13 kills with just two errors against the Tigers. In two NCAA Tournament matches, Kurke has 34 kills and is hitting .414.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:

• In the battle to set the tone early, RIT played off the home crowd and built a 10-4 lead in the opening set, only to see Wesleyan settle in and ride a 7-1 run that gave the Cardinals a 15-13 lead. RIT then battled back with a 6-1 run of their own, holding a four-point lead at 20-16 but a Kiana Yuhl '25 service run saw the Cardinals notch five unanswered points to retake the lead. RIT would retake a 23-21 lead but Ahearn tallied two consecutive kills to knot the score and later at 24-24, she continued her torrid stretch with back-to-back kills once again to finish off a crucial 26-24 first set win for Wesleyan.

 

• It was Wesleyan's turn to take an early lead as the Cardinals led 7-2 early in the second set until the Tigers bounced back and trailed just 9-8. Ahearn then kickstarted a 5-0 run with a kill that set the stage for Bianca Ortiz '24 to go on a service run as Wesleyan suddenly led by six at 14-8. RIT could only close the margin to just three points the rest of the way as the Cardinals closed out a 25-21 second set win.
• Another big early set run saw Wesleyan jump out to an 8-3 lead that later ballooned to 14-7 in favor of the visitors. The RIT defense could do nothing against a potent Wesleyan attack that went for 16 kills on 31 attempts with no errors in the set, countering RIT's offense which hit well (.294 in the third set) but not good enough against a Cardinal team that rolled into the Regional Final with a 25-18 third set win.

 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Ahearn (17), Kurke (13), Brina Kuslak '22 (eight) and Kate Long '24 (seven) combined for 45 of the Cardinals' 46 kills on the evening
• Libero Jenna Otaola '22 posted a game-high 17 digs while Yuhl added nine
• Grace Dennis '23 racked up 38 assists as she helped play a big role in Wesleyan's .325 attack percentage for the match
• The Cardinal offense is certainly hitting its stride, recording a .300+ attack percentage in consecutive matches for just the second time this season and the first since Oct. 1-2 in matches against Colby and Bates
• Wesleyan also cleaned up its passing as the Cardinals committed just six return errors in the match, after committing 27 combined in the two matches prior to tonight

 
UP NEXT:
Wesleyan is set to go up against Juniata in the Rochester Regional Final at 1 PM on Sunday. The two sides met on Oct. 22 in Juniata with the Eagles coming away with a three-set sweep. The two teams met in the 2018 NCAA Quarterfinals in an epic five-set match that the Eagles won (25-20, 13-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-12).