MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – For the second time in as many matches, the Wesleyan volleyball team came-from-behind to win as the Cardinals dispatched the Mammoths in four sets (21-25, 25-15, 25-12, 25-19) on Saturday afternoon from Silloway Gymnasium. Wesleyan (11-5, 5-1 NESCAC) are winners of four straight and seven of the past eight matches overall while the Mammoths (10-6, 1-5 NESCAC) have lost four straight.
 
Less than 24 hours removed from a comeback win over Hamilton at home, Wesleyan again fell behind early as Amherst prevailed by a 25-21 score in the first set. Amherst nearly doubled (15-8) up the Cardinals in kills as a crucial 9-2 run turned what was a 14-12 Wesleyan lead into a 21-16 Amherst advantage that they would hold for the remainder of the frame.
 
The script flipped in the second set, where the Cardinals hit .419 with 16 kills on 31 attempts, thanks in large part to a pair of first-years. After not appearing in the first set, Siena Steines '28 entered as an early substitution in the second set and didn't disappoint as the first-year went 4-for-5 on her attempts in the frame. Sophie Corbeil '28 joined her classmate with four kills in the second set while Elliana Moreno '27 tallied nine of her match-high 19 digs in the second set alone. Wesleyan went on an early 6-0 run and never looked back, taking the second set 25-15.
 
It was more of the same in the third set, with the Cardinals using a 9-0 run off the serve of Bianca Gonya '25 to turn a 6-5 Amherst lead into a 14-6 Wesleyan advantage. The Cardinal lead ballooned to 20-9 before ultimately closing out a 25-12 win. Steines stayed hot, leading the team with three kills in the set, while four other Cardinals recorded two kills each.
 
The third set was a bit more competitive as Wesleyan led 5-1 and 14-9 before the Mammoths answered with a 4-0 run to lower the deficit to 14-13. That, however, was the closest Amherst would get as a crucial 6-0 run for Wesleyan followed as Steines recorded a pair of kills and a block in the six-point swing. The Mammoths went on a 4-0 run to lower the deficit to 21-18, but Michelle Jorba '25 closed the door on the match with kills on three straight Cardinal points to give Wesleyan a match-clinching 25-19 fourth set win.
 
Steines took on a leading role in the comeback, recording a career-high 11 kills with five total blocks while hitting .429. Bianca Gonya '25 was all over the court, totaling six kills with no attack errors, five digs, and seven total blocks (five solo). Sophie Corbeil '28 reached double-digits in kills for the second time this season, finishing with 10. Carly Grumet '28 also played well coming off the bench, recording six kills and hitting .250.
 
Moreno's 19 digs are just one off her career-high. Ella Blair '28 led the team with 17 assists to go along with seven digs and two aces. Adrienne Nguyen '28 totaled 10 digs with four aces.
 
Wesleyan is back on the road next weekend with a crucial slate of NESCAC matches starting with a Friday night tilt at Williams before traveling to take on Middlebury on Saturday.