MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 12 Wesleyan volleyball team needed just over an hour to land a convincing three-set sweep of Bates on Homecoming Saturday from Silloway Gymnasium. The Cardinals (14-2, 7-2 NESCAC) held the Bobcats (10-6, 2-6 NESCAC) to less than .100 hitting, totaling 13 blocks to land an 11
th straight win over Bates.
India Clark '28 played the best game of her career, totaling a career-high 13 kills with just two errors on 24 swings for a .458 hitting percentage. Clark added six blocks in what is her first match with double-digit kills since 2024.
Fiona LaCamera '27 dominated at the net, finishing with 10 blocks for her fifth career match with 10+ blocks.
Wesleyan led throughout the first set, which turned out to be the most competitive of the three sets in the contest, building an 11-8 advantage in the early going. Bates countered with a 5-0 run that later turned into a 9-2 swing as the Bobcats suddenly led 17-13.
Siena Steines '28 started a 4-0 scoring run with a kill before Clark combined on two straight blocks before landing a kill of her own to tie the score. Another Clark kill gave Wesleyan the lead back and the Cardinals finished off a 25-21 first set win. Wesleyan hit .297 in the set with Clark and
Mila Chan '28 landing five kills each while the Cardinals totaled six total blocks with Clark assisting on five of those six blocks.
The second set was one-way traffic as the Cardinals led wire-to-wire, winning seven of the first nine points before later riding a pair of 5-0 runs to complete a 25-14 set win. Bates was held to nine kills against seven errors on 34 swings while the Cardinals landed 13 kills on a .273 hitting percentage. Clark had six of those 13 kills as she went 6-for-9 on her swings with no errors in the frame.
The two sides traded points early in the third set until the Cardinals scored four unanswered points which turned into a 9-1 run as Wesleyan led 14-7. Bates wouldn't go away easily as the Bobcats answered back with a 7-0 run of their own to tie the score. The Cardinals, behind two kills and a block from LaCamera, countered with four unanswered points of their own to open a four-point lead. It was later 20-18 Wesleyan when the Cardinals secured the three-set sweep with five unanswered points to claim the 25-18 third set win. Seven Cardinals had at least one kill in the third set while LaCamera posted four block assists.
Chan finished with eight kills and 11 digs while Steines added seven kills and four blocks.
Paulina Marino-Bindi '27 added six kills while
Elliana Moreno '27 tied with Chan for the team-lead with 11 digs.
Lucy Konisky '30 went for 16 assists and five digs while
Alexa Schnell '29 posted 13 assists, two aces, and five digs.
Wesleyan heads back on the road next weekend with a trip to Smith on Friday night before traveling to face Coast Guard on Saturday afternoon.
