WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – A Friday night thriller in Williamstown saw fans on-hand treated to an instant classic that saw the Wesleyan volleyball team stave off a spirited Williams comeback bid to win in five sets (25-17, 25-16, 31-33, 22-25, 15-13) that came down to the wire. With the win, Wesleyan (12-5, 6-1 NESCAC) claims their third straight Little 3 title, seventh in team history, and their sixth in the past seven years.
 
In a match that had it all, Wesleyan had it all going in the first two sets, controlling the action and running out to a comfortable 2-0 set lead. The Cardinals hit .324 with 13 kills and just two errors on 34 attempts in the first set, which was far and away the best attack percentage from either side in any set on the evening. Wesleyan ran out to a 9-4 lead and holding that in and around a five-point advantage until a 7-3 scoring run finished off a 25-17 first set win. Morgan Mattson '28 (4 kills on 10 attempts) and Michelle Jorba '25 (3 kills on 7 attempts) combined for seven kills with no errors, both hitting over .400 in the frame.
 
The Cardinals benefitted from a strong servicing display in the second set, with Wesleyan totaling five aces in the stanza, to claim a 25-16 win. Fiona LaCamera '27 amassed four total blocks, combining with Siena Steines '28 on three of them, to highlight a stellar defensive showing.
 
Leading by two sets to none and in complete control of the proceedings, Wesleyan looked like they might be on their way to a clean sweep as the Cardinals led 16-14 in the third set and later held a 21-18 and 23-20 advantage. The Ephs fought back with three unanswered points, only to see Bianca Gonya '25 and Lila Sayre '25 combine on a block to make it match point Wesleyan at 24-23. From that point forward, however, back-and-forth the two sides went. The Cardinals had three more match points, while Williams had four, before an attack error gave the Ephs a 33-31 win to prolong the match into a fourth set.
 
That momentum carried over into the fourth, with Williams jumping out to an 8-2 lead and later holding a 16-7 advantage. The Cardinals got back to within three points of the lead on a few occasions and had the margin cut to 24-22 in the late stages, only to see the Ephs finish off a 25-22 win and send the match into a decisive fifth set.
 
In the face of an Ephs comeback in front of a rowdy Williams home crowd, Wesleyan managed to get out on the front foot in the fifth set, as a 4-0 run featuring back-to-back blocks made it 4-1 Cardinals. Another 4-0 Wesleyan run made it 9-4 Cardinals but Williams came storming back with a 7-1 run of their own, giving the Ephs a 11-10 lead. The two sides went back-and-forth looking for the decisive blow, which came in the form of a Carly Grumet '28 ace to set up a match point for Wesleyan. On what was their sixth match point of the match, the Cardinals were not to be denied this time, as LaCamera and Steines combined once again, stuffing Keely Campuzano at the net as Wesleyan won 15-13.

LOOK WHAT IS MEANS ??

Wes Volleyball are your 2024 Little 3 Champions ?? pic.twitter.com/tAXxia2jUO

— Wesleyan Athletics (@wes_athletics) October 19, 2024

 
This thrilling win signaled the fifth straight win for the Cardinals over Williams in Williamstown dating back to 2016 while Wesleyan has defeated the Ephs in 10 of the past 11 meetings.
 
The Cardinals recorded new season-highs in aces (15) and total blocks (18) as Wesleyan overcame an Ephs squad that totaled 60 kills compared to 47 for the Cardinals. LaCamera played the best match of her young career, finishing with a career-high 10 total blocks to go along with five kills and no errors on 10 attempts. The 10 blocks are the most by any Cardinal in a match since Gabby Bennett '20 set a single-match team record 12 against Middlebury in 2016.
 
Bianca Gonya '25 was stellar all-around with seven kills, eight blocks, and four digs. Elliana Moreno '27 tallied 19 digs to lead the team while she went 21-for-21 on service receptions. Steines went for seven kills with six blocks and five digs. Jorba led the team with eight kills while Mattson finished with seven. Ali Landa '26 had 25 assists with seven digs while Adrienne Nguyen '28 added 13 digs.
 
Wesleyan heads up to Middlebury next for a Saturday afternoon showdown against the Panthers at 2 PM. The two sides met once already this season in a non-conference match won by the Panthers in four sets (27-25, 16-25, 18-25, 14-25).