WATERVILLE, Me. – The Wesleyan volleyball team threw everything they could at Middlebury on Friday night but the Panthers' defense proved up to the task in a three-set sweep (25-18, 25-22, 25-20) for the two-seed Middlebury. The defending champion and four-seed Wesleyan sees their season come to an end with a 14-11 overall record and seventh straight trip to the NESCAC semifinal round.
 
Despite taking 136 swings, Wesleyan landed just 30 kills as Middlebury finished with 83 digs as a team in the three-set match. Molly Harrison led Middlebury with a monster performance, finishing with 15 kills with a career-high 27 digs to lead all players in both categories. The Cardinals amassed 71 as a team with four players finishing with 10+ digs in a match dominated by the two defenses, but it was the Panthers who came out on top as Middlebury advances to the title match where they will face the top-seed Colby on Saturday.
 
Middlebury jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the first set, only to see Wesleyan fight back, using a pair of 4-0 runs to close the deficit to 16-13. The Wesleyan fight back continued with three more unanswered points to make it 18-17 Panthers, but Middlebury won seven of the last eight points in the set to take the opener 25-18.
 
Wesleyan flipped the script in the second set, starting with four unanswered points and later using a 5-1 run to hold a 11-4 advantage. It was 14-6 Wesleyan and even though Middlebury used a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to 14-10, the Cardinals withstood the run and seemed in control up 21-16. Middlebury, however, proved up to the task as the Panthers closed the set on a 9-1 run, landing seven kills in that set-clinching run to claim a 25-22 win.
 
That late-set momentum carried over into the third where Middlebury stormed out to a 5-0 lead. Middlebury led comfortably until Wesleyan closed the gap, using a 5-0 run to tie the score at 19-19. But for the third straight set, Middlebury dominated the late stages as the Panthers used a 6-1 run this time to win the set 25-20 and match in three sets.
 
Adrienne Nguyen '28 recorded 19 digs to lead the Cardinal defense while Morgan Mattson '28 had 11 digs to go along with a team-leading six kills. Elliana Moreno '27 and Ali Landa '26 both finished with 10 digs.
 
Bianca Gonya '25 totaled five kills and hit .417 for the match to go along with six total blocks (three solo). Michelle Jorba '25 had five kills, six total blocks, and five digs.