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Now Loading: Women's Volleyball
Jenna Otaola
Jenna Otaola '22 totaled a career-high 28 digs in Saturday's win over previously unbeaten Tufts
3
Winner Wesleyan (CT) Wes 4-1,1-1 NESCAC
2
Tufts Tufts 6-1,1-1 NESCAC
Winner
Wesleyan (CT) Wes
4-1,1-1 NESCAC
3
Final
2
Tufts Tufts
6-1,1-1 NESCAC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Wesleyan (CT) Wes 25 11 25 32 15 (3)
Tufts Tufts 20 25 21 34 13 (2)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Volleyball Bounces Back in a Big Way, Defeating Previously Unbeaten No. 21 Tufts in Five-Set Thriller

Cardinals pull out a thrilling five-set win over the reigning NESCAC Champion

MEDFORD, Mass. – In an intense redemption match against the defending NESCAC Champion and No. 21 nationally-ranked Tufts, Wesleyan volleyball somehow managed to get the win and finish 1-1 on the weekend. After a tough loss to Bowdoin Friday night, the Cardinals came back strong and played five sets with scores of 25-20, 11-25, 25-21, 32-34, and 15-13 to earn an impressive win in this five-set thriller.
 
Excitement was high and the stats were higher in this five set match — three Wesleyan attackers earned kills in the double digits and setter Grace Dennis '23 led the team with 43 assists. Across the net, Cate Desler led the attack front for the Jumbos with a match-high 22 kills.
 
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS 
  • Wesleyan started the match slow and continued to trail behind Tufts until they managed to pull head after a few errors from the Jumbos at 18-18. Defensive specialist Grace Bell '23 served the Cardinals to victory with a 3-point run to end the set 25-20. 
  • The second set spelled trouble for the Cardinals, and they found themselves at a 10-point deficit before even scoring 5 points. Too many errors and no runs saw Wesleyan give up the set 25-11. 
  • After dropping the second set, the Cardinals and Jumbos were neck-and-neck until 12-12 in the third set when an unexpected kill by libero Jenna Otaola '22 gave Wesleyan the push they needed to pull ahead. The momentum from Otaola's four-point serving run that followed carried the Cardinals to a 25-21 victory. 
  • Both teams came ready to win in the fourth set and went point for point all the way past the usual 25-point game. After running out of substitutions, the Cardinals took a tough 32-34 loss that pushed them into their first five set match of the season. 
  • With an early lead in the fifth set, Wesleyan pulled everything together to finish the match with a win. Another serving run by Bell put the Cardinals in position and they finished the job with a narrow 15-13 match-sealing victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS 
  • Maddie Kurke '22, Bella Ahearn '23, and Sydney Smith '25 earned 18, 17, and 16 kills, respectively, for the Cardinals. Wesleyan's defenders had an impressive 90 digs in the match — Otaola led the way with a career-high 28 digs, easily eclipsing her previous career-best of 20 which she accomplished twice before. 
  • The Jumbos had three attackers reach double digits in kills as well — Jennifer Ryan with 12, Desler with 22, and Janelle Starwood with 13. 
  • Tufts beat Wesleyan on the blocking game with 15 blocks opposing six. Ryan and Maya Lightfoot led the Jumbos in blocks with eight each.
COACH BEN SOMERA'S THOUGHTS ON THE GAME
  • "I'm really proud of the way our team fought today. This wasn't a flashy win where everything went our way. It was ugly. Both team's defense smothered each other's offense and it's really tough to keep your fighting spirit when you have to work so hard for kills. Our defenders played with so much courage and they inspired our attackers to continue to compete. It was an amazing match to watch from the sideline." 
UP NEXT
Your Wesleyan Cardinals will be back at home on Thursday Sept. 23 with another NESCAC match up against Connecticut College at 8:00 PM. 
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