MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The top-seed Wesleyan volleyball team took down the eight-seed Bates in four sets (25-15, 24-26, 25-20, 25-11) in Silloway Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon to advance to the Semifinal round of the NESCAC Tournament. This marks the eighth straight season Wesleyan (20-2) has advanced to the NESCAC Semifinals.
The Cardinal offense was firing on all cylinders, hitting .288 with 57 kills, the most kills for Wesleyan in a four-set match this season.
Mila Chan '28 finished with 15 kills and 0 errors on 28 attempts, hitting .536 in the match, while
Siena Steines '28 recorded a match-high 17 kills on 39 attempts, hitting .308. Steines added 11 digs for a double-double.
The first set saw Wesleyan hit .292 while the Bobcats had 10 attack errors and hit a negative percentage in the frame. The Cardinals built a 9-3 lead and extended that advantage to as many as 14 points before ultimately closing out a 25-15 win.
Fiona LaCamera '27 had a team-leading four kills to go along with three blocks in the first set alone.
Bates came firing back in the second set, leading 6-5 early before using a 6-0 run to open up a 12-6 advantage. Wesleyan followed with four unanswered points to cut the deficit down to 12-10 and later tied the score at 17 apiece following another 4-0 run. The Cardinals had a set point squandered and Bates took advantage with a service ace from Ellie Asada followed by a Kate Norry kill to win the second set 26-24.
The third set played out much the same as the second set with the lead changing hands five times. After Bates tied the score at 18-18, Wesleyan won four unanswered points in a crucial phase to lead 22-18 with a block from LaCamera and
Sophia Lindus '26 featuring in the 4-0 run. That scoring run created enough separation, and the Cardinals got another Steines kill to clinch a 25-20 win.
The fourth set and match came down to the end where Wesleyan staged an epic run, winning 17 of the final 19 points, including eight unanswered to finish off the match in a 25-11 fourth set triumph. Wesleyan could do little wrong in that stanza, as the Cardinals hit .436 with 18 kills and just one error on 39 attempts. Chan went 6-for-10 on her swings while Steines went 6-for-12 and Lindus finished 4-for-9 while
India Clark '28 had three blocks in a dominant fourth set.
Setter
Ali Landa '26 played the full rotation for the first time all season and finished with 36 assists, 13 digs, four kills, and three blocks. LaCamera had seven kills and six blocks while
Elliana Moreno '27 tallied 19 digs and two service aces.
Awaiting the Cardinals in the Semifinal round is a showdown with four-seed Tufts who were the only NESCAC team to beat Wesleyan in the regular season, a five-set thriller on Halloween last Friday.
