AMHERST, Mass. – It was anything but a straightforward three-set sweep for the No. 21 Wesleyan volleyball team, who had to fight off seven set points in the second set and two more set points in the third set, on their way to a 25-16, 31-29, 27-25 victory over Amherst on Saturday afternoon. The win moves Wesleyan to 14-1 overall and 6-0 in NESCAC play, with the Cardinals winning six straight matches, four of which by sweeps.
 
A comfortable 25-16 opening set win for Wesleyan set the tone as the Cardinals saw Amherst commit more attack errors (10) than kills recorded (9). Despite the nine-point margin, Amherst held a 14-13 lead midway through the set only to see the Cardinals rattle off six straight points which kickstarted a 12-2 run to close out the first set with a win.
 
The second set was the defining moment in the match as the Cardinals staged an epic late rally to win in extra points. Amherst seized control in the early going thanks to a 6-1 run and later staged a 5-1 run to lead 20-16. The Mammoths, now leading 24-20, looked on the verge of picking a set off the Cardinals, but Wesleyan was having none of it. Faced with set point after set point, the Cardinals held their ground and won five unanswered points to send the set into extra points. Sophia Lindus '26 had a kill to start the 5-0 run and later added an ace while Katelyn Olin '27 had a solo block and Siena Steines '28 slammed home a kill on what was the fourth straight Amherst set point.
 
Now leading 25-24 in the second set, Wesleyan had set point of their own only for Amherst to flip control back on their side with back-to-back points. Steines again came up clutch with a kill and then combined with Fiona LaCamera '27 on a block. The Cardinals saw another set point come and go, while Amherst had two more chances to win the set, only to see India Clark '28 and Steines record kills to extend the set. Lindus made it 30-29 Wesleyan with her fifth kill of the second set and it was Adrienne Nguyen '28 who closed out the set with a service ace to hand the Cardinals a 31-29 win.
 
After that epic rally, Wesleyan had trouble in the early stages of the third set with Amherst building a 12-6 lead. The Cardinals responded with a 5-1 run and the two sides traded points up until Wesleyan won four unanswered to hold a 21-19 advantage. The Little Three rivals continued to trade blows, however, as the Mammoths answered back with a 5-2 run. Trying to serve out the set at 24-23 and 25-24, Amherst saw two more set points thwarted by Wesleyan. Lindus had a kill to make it 25-25 before Olin had a crucial block late in a set, handing Wesleyan a match point, which was not wasted as an attack error clinched the match with a 27-25 triumph.
 
 The Cardinals won the match despite hitting at a .198 clip, well below their season average of .285, thanks to excellent back row play as Wesleyan successfully received all 59 possible serves in the match from Amherst while the Mammoths also committed 13 service errors themselves.
 
Steines posted a match-high 15 kills, 14 of which came in the final two sets combined, while she hit .281 on 32 swings to go along with five digs and two blocks. Clark and Lindus each added seven kills while Clark went 7-for-11 on her swings with no errors, hitting .636. Lindus contributed defensively with 11 digs while she returned the most serves of anyone on the team at 21 while committing no reception errors.
 
Wesleyan will spend the upcoming week preparing for a big NESCAC home weekend with the Cardinals playing host to Williams on Friday night and Middlebury on Saturday afternoon.