MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The top-seed Wesleyan volleyball team were downed by the four-seed Tufts in four sets (25-14, 19-25, 23-25, 22-25) on Friday night in the NESCAC Semifinals from Silloway Gymnasium. The Jumbos (21-5) advance to the NESCAC Championship for the third time in the last six seasons while the Cardinals (20-3) await news of an NCAA Tournament at-large bid with the Selection Show slated for Monday afternoon.
 
Wesleyan came out on fire in the opening set, hitting .259 on offense while the Jumbos were held to a .027 attack percentage with 10 kills and nine attack errors in the frame. The Cardinals rattled off a pair of 4-0 runs to open up an 8-2 lead in the early going. The Cardinals piled it on with five unanswered points to lead 15-5 before closing out the set with six consecutive points to claim the 25-15 win. A balanced attack saw five Cardinals total at least two kills while Fiona LaCamera '27 and Siena Steines '28 each added three total blocks.
 
The second set saw the Jumbos control play throughout, leading wire-to-wire to claim a 25-19 win. Wesleyan hung in, despite trailing 18-12, closing the gap to 19-17 and later 21-19 but a service error was followed by three unanswered Jumbo points to even the set score. Tufts hit .306 in the second set and evaded the Wesleyan blocks throughout the stanza as the Cardinals had 0 blocks in the second set after recording five blocks in the first set.
 
The third set loomed large in the outcome as the teams traded scoring runs in the early stages before a 5-0 scoring run for the Jumbos put the visitors out in front 15-13. Wesleyan responded with a 7-2 run, taking a 20-18 lead, but Tufts answered with a 5-0 scoring run and even though the Cardinals staved off two set points, they couldn't hold off a third as Tufts won the third set 25-23.
 
That late set momentum from the third carried over into the fourth as Tufts jumped out to a 11-6 lead. The Cardinals stabilized and then rode a 10-3 run to lead 19-17 in the late stages, when a close play at the net proved to be a turning point. The Cardinals lobbied for a net touch by a Jumbo, but the official at center court deemed no touch by the Tufts attacker, giving the Jumbos a crucial point. A service ace from Rianna Liu followed and the Jumbos used an 8-3 run to close out the match with a 25-22 fourth set win. Steines had six of the Cardinals' 10 kills in the fourth set, but couldn't overcome another stellar offensive display from the Tufts who hit .263 in the frame.
 
Steines led the Cardinals with 14 kills to go along with five digs and three blocks. Sophia Lindus '26 added nine kills and three aces. LaCamera posted five kills and five blocks while Elliana Moreno '27 had a match-high 21 digs.
 
Ranked inside the Top 15 nationally heading into tonight's match in the selection rankings, the Cardinals are all but assured an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament in what will be the Cardinals' eighth all-time appearance.