MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 21 nationally-ranked Wesleyan volleyball team continued its strong start to the new campaign with a dominating showing on Saturday, earning 3-0 sweeps of both Roger Williams and Aurora at home in the final day of the Wesleyan Invitational from Silloway Gymnasium. Wesleyan (4-0) takes its unbeaten record into a huge Friday night showdown at home against Tufts next week.
 
After starting the weekend with a 3-1 triumph over No. 22 Southwestern (Texas) on Friday, Wesleyan opened with a convincing 25-16, 25-12, 25-12 sweep of the Hawks. As a team, Wesleyan hit .371 with 39 kills against just six errors while holding RWU to a .024 attack percentage that included 17 errors.
 
Wesleyan also benefitted from 12 service aces compared to just three for the Hawks. Mariko Tanaka '24 led the way with a game-high 12 kills in 26 attempts with just one error, hitting .423 for the match while adding eight digs. Bianca Gonya '25 posted seven kills and hit .545 while Zoe Swift '25 added seven kills as the duo caused havoc in the middle all afternoon for RWU.
 
Grace Bell '23 served up five aces while Bianca Ortiz '24 posted 11 digs from the libero position. First-year setter Ali Landa '26 saw her first action of the season and led the team with 10 assists while Annabelle Schlesinger '25 totaled eight.
 
In the nightcap, Wesleyan met Aurora in a matchup of the two undefeated teams up to that point in the Invitational. A well-played match throughout saw both sides finish nearly even in both kills (45-43 Wesleyan) and digs (52-46 Wesleyan) but where the Cardinals separated from the Spartans was the all-important attack percentage as the home side hit .302 while Aurora finished at .147.
 
Helping keep the numbers in favor of Wesleyan was the Cardinals' presence at the net as the total blocks favored Wesleyan heavily, 11-4, helping account for 23 Spartan attack errors for the match.
 
Three Cardinals finished with 10+ kills as Tanaka tied with Michelle Jorba '25 for the team-lead with 11 apiece. Sophia Lindus '26 added 10 kills and Bella Ahearn '23 had nine for a well-balanced Wesleyan attack. Grace Dennis '23 dished out 37 assists while Jenna Otaola '22 posted 15 digs and Bell added 10.
 
A back-and-forth first set saw both sides lead by three up until the midway point where a 4-0 Wesleyan run made it 16-10 in favor of the Cardinals. Aurora answered back with six consecutive points to tie the score before a 3-0 Wesleyan run pushed the Cardinals back out in front 19-16. The Spartans roared back to tie the score late, sending the first set into extra points before Lindus came through with a set-clinching kill to give Wesleyan a 28-26 victory.
 
Aurora seemed to have full control of the second set, leading by as many as five late while the Spartans were just three points away from the set win, leading 22-18 with the serve. But Wesleyan this time went on a late run to tie the score at 22 apiece thanks to a 4-0 run capped by a block from Ahearn and Tanaka. With work still left to do late, Wesleyan got a kill from Jorba that sealed a 26-24 second set win.
 
In the third set, Wesleyan led 7-2 in the early stages and this time, the Cardinals didn't allow Aurora back into the game. The Spartans would only get to within two of the lead in the remainder of the set as Wesleyan recorded 18 kills in the third set alone, hitting .350 as a team to finish the match in style with a 25-16 victory.
 
Wesleyan brings a ton of momentum into the start of NESCAC play on Friday night as the Cardinals welcome Tufts at 7:00 PM. Last season, the two sides met twice, both of which required five sets before Wesleyan closed out each match with a late victory. The Cardinals come in having won four of the last five matches against Tufts, three of which needed five sets to determine a winner.