MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – In a match brimming with standout efforts on both sides, the No. 15 ranked Wesleyan volleyball team came-from-behind in both the fourth and fifth sets, taking a five-set win (25-20, 18-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11) in a thriller over Middlebury on Friday night. With the win, Wesleyan (18-1, 9-0 NESCAC) clinches the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament for the second straight season. The Panthers (14-7, 6-3 NESCAC) are still fighting for a home playoff match with the regular season finale slated for tomorrow afternoon.
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Wesleyan managed an 25-20 opening set win, despite seeing the Panthers hit .314 in the opener, the highest single-set attack percentage in the match for Middlebury. After Wesleyan won the first three points of the match, Middlebury responded with seven unanswered, forcing a Cardinal timeout. Middlebury continued to push, building a 13-6 lead before Wesleyan fought back, starting with four unanswered points. The Cardinals then rattled off a 5-0 run to tie the score at 15-15. The score remained close until a crucial 6-0 Wesleyan run late, featuring a couple
Kate Long '24 kills, led the visitors to a come-from-behind first set win.
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Middlebury dominated the second set, hitting Wesleyan with a 10-0 run to build a 12-2 advantage in the early going. That deficit proved too much to overcome as the Panthers led by as many as 12 points before closing out a 25-18 win.
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The third set was hotly-contested, with neither side leading by more than four points in the frame. Wesleyan used a 6-1 run to flip what was an 8-4 deficit into a 10-9 lead, but the Panthers regained control and took back a 17-14 lead. A 4-0 Cardinal run cut a four-point deficit and made it 21-21, but Middlebury finished strong and used a 4-1 run to seal a 25-22 set win.
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Now trailing in sets for the first time in the match, the Cardinals responded with an early set run, using a 4-0 run to build an 8-5 lead. Middlebury came storming back, leading 12-10 and later 19-17, but it was Long who put home a kill then combined with
Kathryn Morton '24 for a block to tie the score. That started a crucial 5-0 run that put Wesleyan out in front 22-19. Middlebury closed the deficit to just one point on two occasions late in the set, but
Sophia Lindus '26 put away a kill on set point, winning the fourth set 25-23 for the Cardinals.
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Playing in their third five-set match of the season, Wesleyan proved they could handle the pressure in a packed Pepin Gymnasium. Middlebury was the better side in the early going, scoring three unanswered points to open the set and holding a 10-8 lead later on. Needing a spark, Wesleyan found one with three straight points, with kills coming from Morton and two from Lindus. Middlebury could only muster one point before a match-clinching 4-0 run sealed the match for the Cardinals.
Mariko Tanaka '24 combined with
Michelle Jorba '25 on a pair of blocks, including one on match point, while
Elliana Moreno '27 had several diving digs to power the Cardinals to a 15-11 fifth set win.
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In a true team win, the Cardinals received top contributions up and down the lineup. Lindus finished with a match-high 22 kills on 57 attempts (.281 attack percentage) while she added 14 digs for a sixth double-double in the past eight matches. Long finished with 11 kills and just two errors on 27 attempts (.333). Jorba set a career-high with seven total blocks while totaling 11 kills and hitting .333. Tanaka hit a team-best .364 as she finished with 10 kills and five blocks.
Kathryn Morton '24 went for six kills, six digs, and four blocks.
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Bianca Ortiz '24 posted a match-high 25 digs at libero while Moreno was stellar, totaling a career-high 20 digs for the match.
Maya Lopansri '25 dished out 33 assists while
Ali Landa '26 added 20 assists with five digs.
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As a team, Wesleyan hit .259 with 66 kills and 17 errors on 189 attempts. The Cardinals finished with a season-high 62 assists, 84 digs, and nine total blocks.
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Wesleyan has won seven straight meetings against Middlebury dating back to 2016, with four of those seven wins coming in five sets.
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The Cardinals complete the regular season and look to finish a perfect 10-0 in NESCAC play with a Saturday afternoon showdown at Hamilton.