NEW LONDON, Conn. – One of the best hitting teams in the country proved too much for Conn. College as the No. 24 ranked Wesleyan volleyball team outlasted the Camels in a four-set win on Thursday night from the Luce Fieldhouse. Wesleyan improves to 10-1 (3-0), remaining tied atop the league standings, while Conn. falls to 4-7 (0-4 NESCAC) with the defeat.
 
Coming into the match ranked No. 3 in the country in attack percentage (.275), Wesleyan bested that mark with a .322 clip on Thursday, registering 50 kills on 118 attempts. The primary weapon on offense was sophomore outside hitter Siena Steines '28 who came through with the best match of her career, totaling 21 kills with just three errors on 43 attempts for a .419 attack percentage. The 21 kills are a career-high, representing Steines' first career 20-kill match.
 
Sophia Lindus '26 also showed well as the senior registered 13 kills on 32 attempts to go along with 12 digs for her third double-double of the season. The duo of Steines and Lindus totaled 34 of the Cardinals' 50 kills on the night.
 
Wesleyan outhit the Camels in the first set, totaling 10 kills on just 24 attempts, hitting .375 in the frame to secure a 25-19 first set win. Wesleyan utilized an early 7-2 run to lead 10-7 but the Camels came back and eventually tied the score at 17 apiece. That, however, was as close as Conn. would get as the Cardinals won eight of the last 10 points to secure the early lead.
 
An ultra-competitive second set incredibly saw neither side lead by more than two points in its entirety. The lead changed hands seven times while the score was tied on 22 occasions in the set. A late block by Steines and Katelyn Olin '27 made it 23-22 Wesleyan but the Camels answered back with consecutive points to give Conn. a 24-23 lead and set point. Looking for an answer, the Cardinals went to Steines who had a set-saving kill followed by a Conn. attack error and then with their own set point, Wesleyan went to Steines again who closed out a 26-24 second set win with her fifth kill of the frame.
 
The third set mirrored the second set as it featured 12 ties and five lead changes, but Wesleyan looked to have control of the stanza with a 23-19 lead late on. Facing a three-set sweep, the Camels had other ideas as Conn. won four straight points and then staved off a match point before rattling off three more unanswered points to win the third set 26-24.
 
Conn. looked to be in control of the fourth set, sporting a 13-10 lead nearing the midway point of the frame, but Steines went to work with three kills in a short span to help Wesleyan retake an 18-16 lead. Another 3-0 burst that saw Fiona LaCamera '27 factor in all three points with a kill followed by back-to-back blocks, made it 21-17 Cardinals. A few points later, Lindus' fourth kill of the set gave Wesleyan a match point which they did not waste as Steines closed out the match with her 21^st kill to give the Cardinals a 25-20 fourth set victory.
 
Wesleyan dominated at the net, sporting a 15-4 advantage in total blocks for the match, which helped overcome a 57-50 edge for Conn. in kills.
 
LaCamera had a great all-around night with seven kills and no errors on 12 attempts (.583 hitting percentage) to go along with seven total blocks (two solo, five assists). Alexa Schnell '29 posted a team-leading 13 digs while Elliana Moreno '27 had 12 digs and six assists. Ali Landa '26 had 27 assists to lead the Cardinals.
 
The Cardinals are back in action on Friday night with another in-state NESCAC battle on the road as Wesleyan takes on Trinity at 6 PM in Hartford.