MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Chosen as a host site for Regional Round action in the NCAA Tournament, the Wesleyan volleyball team fed off the home crowd and rolled to a four-set win over perennial national power NYU in the First Round on Thursday night in Silloway Gymnasium. The Cardinals (21-3) improve to 8-0 all-time in the First Round of NCAA's and advance to face Ithaca on Friday at 7 PM back in Silloway.
 
The set scores saw the Cardinals prevail 25-14, 14-25, 25-14, 25-15 in a match dominated by Wesleyan's offense, both on swings and from the service line. Wesleyan finished with 46 kills on 107 attempts with 18 errors, hitting .262 against the Violets. NYU hit .156 as a team while committing 11 service errors, compared to the Cardinals who finished with nine service aces and just three reception errors.
 
The opening set saw Wesleyan score four unanswered points, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead, and never looking back as the Cardinals led for the remainder of the first set in a 25-14 win. Wesleyan could do little wrong on offense, totaling 15 kills with just two errors on 27 swings, hitting .481 in the stanza, while junior libero Elliana Moreno '27 had six digs in the first set alone.
 
NYU answered right back with an even better offensive showing in the second set, hitting .571 as a team with five players recording 2+ kills. The Violetts used a 5-0 run to build a 7-2 lead and led by at least five points for the remainder of the set, closing out a 25-14 win.
 
A crucial third set was hotly contested in the early going, with five ties and three lead changes, before Ali Landa '26 served the Cardinals on a 6-0 run to give Wesleyan a 14-9 advantage. NYU couldn't string together points following that run of six unanswered points, before the Cardinals closed out the set with another 6-0 run to win 25-14.
 
The deciding fourth set played out much like the third set, with NYU leading early, only to see the Cardinals go on an extended run. The Violets led 7-4 in the fourth set before Sophia Lindus '26 went to work with three straight kills to help the Cardinals go on an 8-2 run to hold a 12-9 lead. Another 7-1 run followed and Wesleyan led 19-12 and later 23-13 before closing out the match with a 25-15 triumph. Wesleyan hit .364 in that fourth set, with all 11 kills coming from Lindus, Siena Steines '28, and Mila Chan '28.
 
Wesleyan's three primary outside hitters all went for 10+ kills in tonight's win. Lindus led the Cardinals with 15 kills to go along with 11 digs while Chan hit .435 on her way to a 13-kill performance with adding nine digs. Steines totaled 10 kills and hit .300.
 
Katelyn Olin '27 recorded three kills and had a team-high five blocks. Ali Landa '26 and Alexa Schnell '29 each finished with 17 assists while Landa had 10 digs. Moreno finished with 10 digs, four assists, and three service aces.
 
Wesleyan is set to meet the Bombers in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night. The two sides met last season in Middletown with Ithaca coming out on top in a five-setter.