MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - It took all five sets to determine a winner, but the top-seed Wesleyan volleyball team pulled through in a thriller, defeating the four-seed Amherst 3-2 (26-28, 25-18, 25-19, 20-25, 15-12) in the NESCAC semifinals on Saturday afternoon from Silloway Gymnasium. The Cardinals (23-2) advance to the NESCAC Championship for the second straight season and fourth time in program history, where they will meet the two-seed Tufts (20-5) on Sunday at Noon.

After coming-from-behind in the fourth set to defeat Colby in the quarterfinals last night, the Cardinals again proved their mettle with a decisive 5-0 run in the fifth and deciding set that proved the difference in the end. All five points in the scoring run came off kills to cap what was a sensational offensive showing wherein the Cardinals recorded a season-high 67 kills while hitting .239 as a team. Just as it appeared Wesleyan had the match in control, leading 14-8, the Mammoths didn't go away quietly as Amherst staved off four match points to make it 14-12. However, the Cardinals came through with a combined block from Kathryn Morton '24 and last night's late-match hero Kate Long '24, to send Wesleyan to the title match. 

Sophia Lindus '26 had a spectacular performance, as the freshman outside hitter totaled a career-high 27 kills while hitting .242 in 66 attempts. She added nine digs and 3 blocks to her performance. Bella Ahearn '23 followed with a stellar outing as well, totaling 17 kills with only three errors for a hitting efficiency of .389. 

Morton had a fantastic showing as well in this all out battle with nine kills and three blocks, hitting .381. Bianca Gonya '25 landed a career high of 10 blocks, just one shy of the program record set by Alexis Keller '02 in the 1999 season. Michelle Jorba '25 added eight kills and four blocks for the Cardinals. 

Setter Grace Dennis '23 had an outstanding performance, achieving a career-high 62 assists with three service aces and 13 digs. This marked the highest single-match assist total by a Cardinal since Kaira Muraoka-Robertson '20 tallied 63 in a win over Christopher Newport in the 2017 season. Jenna Otaola '22 ran the back row this afternoon and had a season-high 29 digs.

 

Amherst tallied 62 kills and 12 blocks, hitting .161. Caroline Tilton lead the way with 23 kills and nine blocks followed by Kinsey Cronin with 13 kills and six blocks. The Mammoths had 79 digs as a team with Carly Cooper earning 46 assists and 26 digs. Lizzie Papalia earned 18 digs and two aces. 

The first set of the match was neck and neck until the Mammoths took the first set 28-26. The second set began with an early lead for Wesleyan with a service run from Dennis to make it 10-6. Back-to-back kills from Lindus and Ahearn helped strengthen the Cardinal lead and eventually take the second set 25-18. 

Bell had an enormous service run in the third set, giving Wesleyan a 10-point lead at 17-10. Although the Mammoths tried coming back from that deficit, they could not take the lead. Wesleyan took the third set 25-19.

 

In the fourth set, the Cardinals and Mammoths went point for point until the visitors went on a 4-1 run to lead 21-18. With that lead, Amherst took the fourth set 25-20. In the fifth and final set of the match, Wesleyan had an early two-point lead. A service run from  Otaola brought the Cardinals to match point, 14-8. The Mammoths fought off four match points to lower the deficit to 14-12, but a block from Morton and Long sealed the fifth set, 15-12.

The Cardinals advance to the NESCAC Championship where they will meet the Jumbos at Noon on Sunday. Wesleyan swept the Jumbos 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 26-24) in a very close battle all the way back on September 16 in Silloway Gymansium.