MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Wesleyan volleyball team is well-represented on this year's NESCAC awards release as the Cardinals saw three earn All-NESCAC honors while Elliana Moreno '27 was named the 2025 NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year. This represents the eighth straight year Wesleyan has multiple players make an All-NESCAC Team.
 
Moreno continues a long line of standout play at the libero position within the program as she becomes the fourth Cardinal to win the award in the past six seasons and the fifth overall in team history. Moreno joins Bianca Ortiz '24 (2023), Jenna Otaola '22 (2021), and Phia Bellizzi '21 (2019) as the fourth Cardinal to win the honor since 2019 while the all-time list of DPOY winners also includes two-time honoree Ruby Hernandez '11 (2009, 2010).
 
Representing Wesleyan on the All-NESCAC includes senior outside hitter Sophia Lindus '26 and sophomore outside hitter Siena Steines '28, both of whom were named to the First Team, while senior setter Ali Landa '26 made it on the All-NESCAC Second Team. Lindus joins Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Famer Lisa Drennan '09 as the only two Cardinals in team history to graduate with three career All-NESCAC First Team selections. Steines and Landa make All-NESCAC for the first time in their respective career.

---

Elliana Moreno '27 | Libero | NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year 

Starting all 23 matches for the Cardinals at the libero position, Moreno established herself as the top defender in the NESCAC, establishing single-season career-highs across the board. In 78 sets played, Moreno totaled 347 digs, averaging 4.45 digs per set which ranks third-most in the NESCAC this season. As a team, Wesleyan is holding opponents to a .137 hitting percentage, which is second-lowest among 11 teams in the NESCAC.
 
The junior had 10+ digs in 21-of-23 matches this season while she had 20+ digs six times in 2025. Moreno averaged 10 digs per set, totaling 20 digs in two sets played in a sweep of Susquehanna back on September 12, while she posted a career-high 27 digs in a three-set sweep at Trinity on October 3. She heads into the NCAA Tournament with at least 21 digs in each of the last three matches.

---

Sophia Lindus '26 | Outside Hitter | First Team

After missing the entire 2024 season due to injury, the two-time All-American and two-time NESCAC Player of the Year returned with vengeance this season, earning a third career All-NESCAC First Team selection in 2025. Lindus piled up the points, ranking third in the NESCAC in points per set (3.73) while she ranks sixth in the league in kills per set (3.06), tied for 11^th in service aces per set (0.44), and 15^th in digs per set (2.83).
 
Playing the full rotation for the Cardinals all throughout the season, Lindus started all 23 matches and played in 78 sets. She heads into the NCAA Tournament with 239 kills, 34 service aces, 33 total blocks, and a career-high 224 digs. Lindus has seven double-doubles on the year and had a pair of monster performances against Middlebury (17 kills, 14 digs), Tufts (20 kills, 10 digs), and Bates (19 kills, 13 digs, four aces, six blocks).

---

Siena Steines '28 | Outside Hitter | First Team

In just her second season playing for the Cardinals, Steines enjoyed a breakout sophomore year, totaling 241 kills (3.13 per set) while hitting .327 on 554 attempts. She ranks fourth in the NESCAC in kills per set while she sits tied for sixth in the NESCAC in hitting percentage. After hitting .141 with 107 kills in the 2024 season, Steines has stepped into a leading role this year and been the top option as the team-leader in kills while she ranks first among underclassmen in the NESCAC in kills per set.
 
Steines has four double-doubles on the season while she has hit .400+ in 10 of the 23 matches this season. She posted a career-high 21 kills (.419 hitting percentage) in a road win at Conn. on October 2 and has been stellar over the last three matches heading into the NCAA Tournament. In those three matches, Steines started with 19 kills (.457) and a career-high eight blocks against Bates on Nov. 1. She followed with 17 kills and 17 digs in the NESCAC Quarterfinal win over Bates and most-recently had 14 kills, five digs, and three blocks against Tufts in the NESCAC Semifinals.

---

Ali Landa '26 | Setter | Second Team

A three-year starter at the position, Landa earns All-NESCAC honors for the first time while in the midst of her best season playing for Wesleyan. Through 23 matches, Landa has 514 assists, 19 kills, 10 aces, and 161 digs in 79 sets played. Landa's assist per set (6.51) and digs per set (2.04) averages are both career-highs while she recently recorded her 1,500^th career assist against Tufts in the NESCAC Semifinals.
 
Landa has been the primary setter for a Cardinal team that ranks first in the NESCAC in points per set (17.6), first in hitting percentage (.266) and first in kills per set (13.05). At times throughout the season, Wesleyan led the nation in hitting percentage. Landa recently set a career-high with 41 assists in the NESCAC Quarterfinal win over Bates while she had a career-high 21 digs to go along with 21 assists in a four-set win over Colby back on September 19.

---

The Cardinals (20-3) are back in the NCAA Tournament field for the eighth time in program history and the seventh time since 2017. Wesleyan is the host site for NCAA Regional Round action for just the second time in team history and open the national postseason tournament with a 7 PM match on Thursday against NYU in Silloway Gymnasium.