MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Trailing 11-8 in the fifth and deciding set, the defending league champs proved they weren't going down without a fight. In the face of the Trinity momentum, the Cardinals ripped off seven unanswered points, rallying to defeat the Bantams in five sets (25-27, 25-14, 25-22, 22-25, 15-11) in the NESCAC Quarterfinal round. The four-seed Wesleyan (14-10) advances to the NESCAC Championship weekend for the seventh straight season while the Bantams (19-6) see one of the greatest single-seasons in team history come to an end.
 
Playing in front of a packed Silloway Gymnasium with strong fan support for both teams whose campuses are just 19 miles apart, Trinity pushed ahead in that fifth set, leading 5-1 in the early going. The Cardinals responded with three unanswered points, cutting the deficit to 5-4, but Trinity held steady and would lead 11-8 looking to finish off the Cardinals late on.
 
Wesleyan, however, had other ideas as Michelle Jorba '25 got the match-clinching run started with what was her 17^th kill of the evening, matching the senior's career-high. After two straight Trinity attack errors tied the score at 11-11, Siena Steines '28 put the Cardinals ahead on her 14^th kill. Jorba then blocked Ava Boloyan at the net and Morgan Mattson '28 served an ace to give the Cardinals a match point. After a quick rally, the Bantams' Eva Lekovic saw her attempt blocked at the net by Jorba and Fiona LaCamera '27, securing Wesleyan passage into the NESCAC Semifinal round where they will face Middlebury on Friday at 7:30 PM in a match played on the campus of top-seed Colby.
 
Both teams responded to the start of postseason play with a thrilling match that saw four of the five sets decided by four points or less. The offenses told the story in the early going, with the two teams combining for 34 kills and just five errors in the first set. Trinity recorded 20 kills in the first set while Wesleyan totaled 14 with only one error in 36 attempts. The Bantams had led or been tied with the Cardinals up until a late 5-1 Cardinal run made it 24-23 Wesleyan. That set point came and went and the Bantams edged out an early 27-25 set win.
 
The response from the hosts was immediate as Wesleyan's offense stayed hot, hitting .276 in the second set after going for .361 in the first set, while Trinity had more attack errors (nine) than kills (eight) in the frame. Wesleyan set the tone early and put the set away with six unanswered points which turned into a 9-1 run. The Cardinals won five of the final six points to take a 25-14 second set win.
 
Trinity looked to be in complete control of the third set, using an 8-2 run to hold a 14-8 lead. Three unanswered Cardinal points closed the deficit to three points which is around where the score held in favor of Trinity, up until the late stages that saw Wesleyan go on a 5-0 run featuring three straight Steines kills. Jorba finished off a 25-22 set win with a solo block and kill in the set-clinching 7-1 run.
 
The Bantams rebounded in the fourth set, taking an early lead which ballooned up to 18-14. The Cardinals made a run and lowered the deficit to two points on several occasions but couldn't get any closer as Trinity's 25-22 fourth set win took the match to a fifth set decider.
 
In that fifth set, Wesleyan leaned on their blocks as the Cards recorded three total blocks in the deciding set and added six kills. Like the second set, Trinity had more attack errors (eight) than kills (seven) in the fifth set which proved costly.
 
Many contributors littered the stat sheets, led by Jorba who again tied her career-high with 17 kills, hitting .375 with six total blocks and three digs. Jorba previously recorded 17 kills  in Wesleyan's 3-0 sweep of Trinity in the regular season back on October 4.
 
Steines had a career day, going for career-highs in kills (14) and digs (12), as the first-year recorded her first carer double-double. India Clark '28 recorded 10 kills, good enough for her fifth double-digit kill output this season. Fiona LaCamera '27 was all over the floor, finishing with five kills on eight attempts with six total blocks and six digs.
 
Ali Landa '26 (30 assists, eight digs) and Paulina Marino-Bindi '27 (23 assists, nine digs) combined for 53 assists and 17 digs at the setter position.
 
Adrienne Nguyen '28 was stellar throughout, finishing with 19 digs while Elliana Moreno '27 posted 13 herself.
 
Saturday's NESCAC Semifinal matchup against Middlebury will be the third meeting between the two sides this season. The Panthers won both the regular season matches in four sets against Wesleyan.