NEW LONDON, Conn. — The Connecticut College women's volleyball team fell by a 3-1 final to No. 24 Wesleyan University on Thursday night in a NESCAC showdown at Luce Field House.
The Cardinals won by set scores of 25-19, 26-24, 24-26 and 25-20 to improve to 10-1 overall (3-0 NESCAC). Siena Steines led the way with a match-high 21 kills while Sophia Lindus added 13.
Three Camels logged season-best kill totals on the night—
Rae Wartelle (Tacoma, Wash.) with 18,
Grace Anderson (Pawling, N.Y.) with 13 and
Vibha Sheth (Austin, Texas) with 10.
Aubrie Letourneau (Mattapoisett, Mass.) paced the offense with 46 assists and added 10 digs, and
Taylor Merrifield (Honolulu, Hawaii) led all players with 14 digs.
The Cardinals used a strong push at the end of the opening set to take control. With the score tied at 17-17, Wesleyan won three straight points to pull in front, and then later closed things out with a 4-0 spurt that included a pair of blocks by Steines and Katelyn Olin.
The second set featured 22 ties and seven lead changes, with neither team leading by more than two. The Camels tied the score at 23-23 on a kill by Sheth and then took the lead when
Riley Lord (Exeter, N.H.) followed with a kill of her own on the ensuing rally. However, the Cardinals fought off set point and got two more kills from Steines during a 3-0 finish to secure the stanza.
The Camels bounced back in the third set behind six kills from Anderson and five from Wartelle. Trailing 23-19, Conn captured seven of the final eight points to get on the scoreboard. Wartelle supplied a pair of kills during the stretch while Lord chipped in a kill and a service ace.
Conn led 16-15 in the fourth before Wesleyan pulled in front for good with a 3-0 run that included kills by Fiona LaCamera and Steines and an ace by Alexa Schnell. Later, kills by Lindus and Steines wrapped up the match as the Cardinals remained unbeaten in league play.
Conn (4-7 overall, 0-4 NESCAC) will next play a tri-match at Clark University on Saturday, October 4. The Camels are scheduled to take on WPI at 1:00 p.m. and Clark at 3:00 p.m.
