Wesleyan University

GENEVA, N.Y. – Trailing 2-1 in sets, the Wesleyan volleyball team battled back with a 25-20 fourth set win before a crucial 7-0 scoring run in the fifth set paved the way to a 3-2 come-from-behind win for the Cardinals over host William Smith on Sunday afternoon. In what was the first all-time meeting between the two sides, the Cardinals prevailed to secure another win and head back to campus with an unblemished 3-0 record.

The first set saw the Cardinals come out firing on all cylinders, hitting .387 with 14 kills and just two errors on 31 swings. Wesleyan seized control with an early 7-0 run to turn a 3-1 deficit into an 8-3 lead. It was later 11-4 Cardinals before the Herons closed the gap to 13-11, only to see Wesleyan use a pair of 4-0 runs to separate and take the opening set in a 25-16 win. Five Cardinals had at least two kills in the opening set with Carly Grumet '28 leading the way with four kills and no errors on eight swings.
 
The script flipped in the second set when William Smith hit .312 as a team and the Cardinals hit at a .065 clip as the Herons knotted the set score at 1 apiece in a 25-16 second set triumph.
 
The third set looked to be another runaway win for the Herons who led 18-11 and later by a 22-17 margin heading into the final stages of the frame. It was later set point at 24-20 William Smith before three unanswered points pushed the margin to 24-23. Needing one more point to extend the set, Wesleyan couldn't find it as Emily Fulton slammed home the set-winning kill.
 
In need of an answer to push the match to a fifth set, Wesleyan came out and stormed to a 9-4 advantage in the fourth set and the Cardinals wouldn't relinquish the lead for the remainder of the frame. William Smith only got to within a three-point margin as four blocks from the Cardinals, combined with sensational hitting from Siena Steines '28 and Mila Chan '28 sent the match into a decisive set on the backs of a 25-20 fourth set win.
 
The fifth and decisive set was back-and-forth in the opening stages as points were traded until a match-sealing 7-0 Wesleyan run proved too much for William Smith to overcome. Trailing 4-3 in the set, Wesleyan's 7-0 run started with a kill from India Clark '28 before Fiona LaCamera '27 recorded back-to-back blocks followed by a kill of her own. Kills from Chan, Clark, and a pair from Steines sealed the win with a 15-7 fifth set victory.
 
Wesleyan hit .533 as a team in that fifth set, recording 10 kills and two errors on 15 attempts. The Cardinals hit .252 for the match and totaled 12 blocks compared to just four for the Herons who recorded 60 kills themselves, but with a .172 percentage in the five-set thriller.
 
Steines led Wesleyan with 14 kills and a .400 attack percentage on her way to earning Tournament MVP honors. LaCamera went for six kills and 10 blocks (four solo) as her play at the net proved vital in that fifth set. Chan had a big day with 12 kills and 13 digs, giving her All-Tournament Team honors alongside LaCamera.
 
Grumet finished with 12 kills and 10 digs for a double-double while Alexa Schnell '29 recorded a career-high 27 assists and Adrienne Nguyen '28 led the Cardinals with 14 digs.
 
The Cardinals host Swarthmore on Friday at 7 PM in Silloway Gym for the 2026 home opener before traveling to Worcester for matches at WPI and against Plymouth State on Saturday.