The Cardinal volleyball team, coming off a terrific weekend at the MIT Invitational, continued its hot streak on Wednesday, defeating the Western Connecticut State Colonials in three sets. The team, after going 0-6 to start the season, has won four of their last six matches.

“At the start of the season we had a lot of injuries and illnesses,” said middle hitter Laura Volgenau  ’13, “but the team has pulled together recently and we are moving at a much faster pace.”

The improvement the team has made this season was plain in the first set as the Cardinals steamrolled the Colonials 25-11. However, in the second frame the Colonials appeared to find their game, and the teams battled to a 12-12 deadlock. The Cardinal offense proved to be too much for the Colonials, and behind sophomore Casey Reed’s and senior Ashley Farrow’s impressive hitting, the Cards took eight of the next ten points, and after a struggle to seal the deal, finished off the set 25-20.

In the third frame both teams played at a high level, trading points back and forth to arrive at a score of 15-15. The set remained tight, and the Cardinals battled hard to take a 20-18 lead, but by then it was clear who the superior team was, and the Cards finished off the set 25-21 to ice the match, their fourth win in the past week.

“We have been playing some of the best teams in the region, which has made us a lot better,” said libero Ruby Hernandez ’11, “It feels nice to have everyone playing together again.”

In the match against Western Conn., Farrow led the team with 11 kills, while Reed and Alissa Santucci ’12 were close behind with nine and seven, respectively. Hernandez, who ranks first in the NESCAC in digs per set with a 5.5 average, lead the team’s defensive efforts with 14 digs in the match. Setter Ellie Healy ‘10 played a great all-around match, amassing 31 assists, eight digs, and three blocks.

Wesleyan improved to 22-13 all-time against Western Connecticut with the victory and defeated the Colonials for the fifth straight season; four of Wesleyan’s past five wins against its in-state foe have come by 3-0 scores. The Cardinals have won 11 of their past 14 matches against Western Connecticut, dating back to 1999.

The team returns to action this weekend at home by taking on two Maine NESCAC rivals, Colby and Bates. The Colby match takes place Friday at 6:00, while the team will battle Bates on Saturday at 1:30.