MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – After suffering their first two defeats of the season last weekend, the No. 12 ranked Wesleyan volleyball team bounced back in a big way with a four-set win over Tufts on Friday night from Silloway Gymnasium. Wesleyan (13-2, 6-2 NESCAC) picks up a big league win while defeating the Tufts (13-6, 5-2 NESCAC) for the first time since 2023.
The Cardinals were outstanding on the night against a talented Tufts squad that won the NESCAC Championship last season and later advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. As a team, Wesleyan racked up season-highs in both kills (60) and blocks (15) as the Cardinals hit well over .200 in all four sets and had at least 13 kills in each of the four sets. Four Cardinals had 10+ kills and four Cardinals totaled 10+ digs in a strong showing up and down the lineup.
The opening set was a roller coaster ride as the Cardinals established an early 6-3 lead on a 5-0 scoring run and later held a 10-6 advantage in the early going. The Jumbos used a pair of 3-0 runs to cut into the Wesleyan advantage and eventually hold a 21-18 lead. In need of a spark, it was the combination of
India Clark '28 and
Katelyn Olin '26 that paved the way for a comeback set win. Clark and Olin combined for a pair of blocks while each had two kills in a 7-1 Wesleyan run to take the opening set, 25-22.
Wesleyan controlled the play in the early stages of the second set, going on a 7-0 run on the
Lucy Konisky '30 serve. Still holding a 16-10 lead in the middle stages of the set, Wesleyan continued to hold a considerable advantage at 20-15 and later 21-17. In a complete reversal to what transpired in the first set, Tufts made up ground in the late stages of the set, using a 5-1 run to tie the score at 22-22. Both teams had two set points before the Jumbos scored three unanswered to even the score with a 29-27 second set win.
The match continued to teeter back-and-forth as the third set saw Tufts jump out to a 13-9 lead, before Wesleyan used a 4-0 run to tie the score at 13 apiece, only to see the Jumbos lead 21-18 late in the set. Some more late set magic saw Wesleyan buckle down and again use a 7-1 run to win the third set 25-22. Net play favored Wesleyan as
Fiona LaCamera '27 smashed home a kill to tie the score at 22-22 then LaCamera combined with
Paulina Marino-Bindi '27 and
Siena Steines '28 on consecutive blocks to finish off the set.
Looking to finish off the match in four sets, Wesleyan went on a 6-0 run on the
Ariella Garrell '29 serve to turn an 11-10 Tufts lead into a 16-11 advantage for the Cardinals. Tufts cut the deficit to as few as two points but the Cardinals didn't relinquish the lead down the stretch Steines had two kills while LaCamera's solo block capped a 3-0 run that sealed match point in a 25-19 fourth set win.
LaCamera had a career night, finishing with a career-high 14 kills while recording zero attack errors for a .667 hitting percentage. The senior middle added eight blocks as she has 10+ kills in back-to-back matches after never having 10+ kills in any match over her career prior to last Saturday.
Stines recorded 11 kills on 22 swings while
Mila Chan '28 finished with 10 kills, 11 digs, and three aces, and Clark tallied 10 kills and six blocks. Marino-Bindi had seven kills and zero attack errors on 20 swings to go along with four blocks. Olin tallied six kills and six blocks.
Konisky had the best match of her young career, setting a career-high with 29 assists to go along with eight digs.
Alexa Schnell '29 had a double-double with 16 assists and 10 digs.
Elliana Moreno '27 led the Cardinals with a season-high 23 digs.
Wesleyan is back in action on Saturday at 2 PM against Bates during Homecoming Weekend.
