MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Taking on a talented Middlebury squad that came into today's match with a 9-1 record, the No. 10 ranked Wesleyan volleyball team played one of their best matches of the season in a dominant 3-0 sweep (25-11, 25-13, 25-23) on Saturday afternoon from Silloway Gym. The Cardinals (8-0, 2-0 NESCAC) remain unbeaten on the year, recording three-set sweeps in seven of their eight matches.
Carly Grumet '28 had herself a career match, as the junior outside hitter totaled career-highs in both kills (13) and service aces (five) to lead the Cardinals past the Panthers.
Siena Steines '28 racked up 11 kills with just one error on 21 swings, hitting .476 in the win, while first-year setter
Lucy Konisky '30 dished out 23 assists to go along with eight digs and two aces in the convincing win.
Wesleyan put the pedal to the medal right from the opening set, holding Middlebury to just five kills and 11 points in the first while the Cardinals hit .263 and recorded six service aces to take the set 25-11. The Cardinals led 9-5 early then after Middlebury cut the lead to 10-7, Wesleyan scored six unanswered points which led to a 15-4 run to finish off a 14-point set win. Grumet was unstoppable, hitting .600 with six kills and no errors on 10 swings, while Konisky dished out 10 assists.
The second set mirrored the first with Wesleyan leading 10-8 before a 6-0 run saw the Cardinals lead by eight. From there, it was all Wesleyan as the Cardinals went on a 15-5 run to secure a 25-13 set win in a frame that saw Wesleyan hit .593 as a team with 18 kills and two errors on 27 attempts.
Middlebury flipped the script early in the third set, as the Panthers led 9-4 before Wesleyan countered with a 9-1 run of their own to lead 13-10. The lead went on to change hands five times while the score tied on nine occasions in the third set, but in the late stages it was the Cardinals who made the winning plays. Trailing 21-20, Grumet slammed home back-to-back kills before
Elliana Moreno '27 recorded what was the 11
th service ace of the match for Wesleyan. On what was the second match point in the set, Steines came up with the clinching point with her fourth kill of the frame as Wesleyan sealed the match in a 25-23 third set win.
Wesleyan heads on the road for six consecutive away matches, starting on Thursday night with a local trip to face Hartford at 6 PM.
