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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wesleyan has won seven straight meetings against Middlebury dating back to 2016, with four of those seven wins coming in five sets.
The Cardinals complete the regular season and look to finish a perfect 10-0 in NESCAC play with a Saturday afternoon showdown at Hamilton.
