MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 14 ranked Wesleyan volleyball team saw their run of six straight wins by sweep come to an end, but the Cardinals dominated for large portions of a 3-1 win over Bates on Saturday from Silloway Gymnasium. The Cardinals (11-0, 4-0 NESCAC) continue their best start to a season since 1989 while the Bobcats (3-9, 1-4 NESCAC) have lost five of their past six.
 
Wesleyan hit .299 for the match, compiling 54 kills with 14 errors in 134 attempts. The Cardinals totaled 11 blocks and seven service aces while holding the Bobcats to .061 hitting with 31 attack errors.
 
Kathryn Morton '24 was a force at the net, going 8-for-9 on her attempts for a near-perfect .889 attack percentage. Sophia Lindus '26 led the way with 13 kills on 25 attempts (.480) while Michelle Jorba '25 had seven kills on 12 attempts.
 
Ali Landa '26 led the team with 24 assists while Bianca Ortiz '24 racked up 14 digs at the libero spot. Bianca Gonya '25 continues to lead the NESCAC in blocks, as she tallied four on the day with four kills.
 
The Cardinals relied on defense in the first set, holding Bates to just nine kills with eight errors for a .027 attack percentage. Wesleyan had to rally as the Bobcats jumped out to a 5-1 lead and kept the score close until a pair of 3-0 runs midway through the set catapulted Wesleyan to a 20-15 advantage. Another 3-0 run finished off a 25-17 first set win.
 
Wesleyan suffered their first set loss in NESCAC play this season as Bates rattled off seven straight points to lead 16-7. The Cardinals managed to claw their way back into the set, using a 5-0 run to tie the score at 20 apiece. Wesleyan staved off a set point and had a set point of their own before the Bobcats went on a set-winning 3-0 run capped by consecutive kills from Emma Patard.
 
Responding to the set loss in-kind, Wesleyan came out in full force in the third set, jumping out in front 7-0 and never looking back. Wesleyan led by double-digits at 13-2 and led by a commanding 22-6 score line before finishing off a 25-8 win. The Cardinals amassed 14 kills with just one error (.419) in the set.
 
The fourth set played out much the same as the third, with a 7-0 run opening up a 14-5 Cardinal advantage midway through the frame. The two sides traded points until a 5-0 run finished off a match victory for the Cardinals.
 
Next up is a huge match on Sunday at 3 PM as the Cardinals travel to take on No. 11 ranked NYU, a side that advanced to the Final Four last season and beat the Cardinals 3-2 in the regular season in Silloway.