BABSON PARK, Mass. – Competing on the road for the first time in 2024, the No. 14 ranked Wesleyan volleyball team swept Emerson 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-22) but followed with a 3-0 loss (25-19, 25-19, 25-18) to host Babson in the nightcap on Saturday from Staake Gymnasium. With the win and loss on the day, Wesleyan moves to 3-1 on the season.
 
Opening against an Emerson squad that took Wesleyan to five sets last season, the Cardinals took care of the Lions thanks in large part to the heavy hitting from Michelle Jorba '25 and Sophie Corbeil '28 combined with a stellar display from libero Adrienne Nguyen '28.
 
Jorba (11 kills, .444 attack %) and Corbeil (11 kills, .296 attack %, nine digs) combined for 22 of the Cardinals' 38 kills in the match against Emerson. Nguyen was all over the court, finishing with 21 digs, which was nearly half of the team's total (48), to go along with three service aces.
 
Trailing for most of the first set, Wesleyan staged a late 5-0 run to turn a 17-16 deficit into a 21-17 lead off the serve of Ali Landa '26. Emerson, however, responded with a 4-1 run to lower the deficit back down to one. Needing something late, Jorba started the 3-0 set-clinching run with a kill before kills from Bianca Gonya '25 and Corbeil finished off a 25-21 set win.
 
The second set was much all Wesleyan in the early going, as a 5-0 run turned into a 9-1 run to hand the Cardinals an 11-3 advantage. The Lions worked their way back in, but another 5-0 Cardinal run sealed a comfortable 25-18 victory. Wesleyan hit .345 as a team in the second set with 15 kills and five errors in just 29 attempts.
 
Both teams came to play in the third set, with Wesleyan again jumping out to an early lead thanks to a 6-0 run. Wesleyan continued to hold a sizeable advantage until the midway point when Emerson countered with an 8-3 run to take a 17-16 lead. Just as Wesleyan hit back with a 4-0 run, holding a 21-18 lead, the two sides traded points until Lila Sayre '25 came up with the match-clinching kill to give the Cardinals a 25-22 third set win.
 
Playing in the next match on the card, with only a brief intermission to recoup, Wesleyan ran into a buzzsaw in Babson as the Beavers recorded 43 kills compared to just 23 for the Cardinals in a 3-0 sweep for the hosts.
 
Babson led by as many as nine points in the first set, opening with a 7-1 run, before finishing off a 25-19 win.
 
The second set was back-and-forth in the early going, but Wesleyan gained some footing and led 17-15 more than halfway into the frame. From that point forward, however, it was Babson who seized control with a 3-0 run that turned into a set-clinching 10-2 run for the Beavers.
 
Needing to find some magic, the Cardinals hung in throughout the third set, but were again doomed by a late set run as the Beavers ripped off a 6-1 run after leading 19-17 to claim the match via sweep.
 
Jorba totaled six kills and hit over .300 for the match to lead the way for Wesleyan.
 
Babson's Lauren Gips was unstoppable, recording 18 kills and hitting .593 on just 27 attempts. Isabella Allen totaled 11 kills and hit .333 while Zoe Ackerman racked up 32 assists.
 
Wesleyan is off until Friday when they head to Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts for the Bonnie May Invitational. The Cardinals open with Gallaudet on Sept. 13 before taking on Middlebury in a non-conference matchup and Smith on Sept. 14.