Wesleyan opened NESCAC play this past weekend with home contests against Amherst on Friday, Sept. 16, and Middlebury on Saturday, Sept. 17.

The Friday matchup was tight throughout, with Amherst taking the first two sets by identical scores of 25-23. The first set featured a fierce comeback from Amherst after Wes took a 19-12 edge. The second set flipped the script, as the Lord Jeffs saw their 16-7 advantage turn into a 23-23 tie. Amherst took the following two points to secure the set. The Cardinals staved off a sweep by winning the third set 25-20. The fourth set concluded the match, as the Lord Jeffs narrowly took the set, again by a score of 25-23, taking charge after a 21-21 tie. The contentious match resulted in a 3-1 Amherst victory, but the overall score was 95-94 in a match that could have gone either way.

Top performers on the night for the Cardinals were Monica Leslie ’14 and Laura Volgenau ’13. Leslie led all players with 16 kills while Volgenau nailed home twelve kills while leading Wes with six blocks. Laura Yim ’13 had 44 assists on the night, while Jeanne McPhee ’13 had 14 digs. Yim and McPhee extended their team leads in the respective categories.

Saturday’s contest started well for Wes, as they took the first set by a score of 25-21. The next three sets were controlled by Middlebury, as they jumped out to leads of 15-5, 17-12, and 14-6 in the second, third, and fourth sets respectively. The Panthers took the sets by scores of 25-11, 25-15, and 25-15. Kim Farris ’14 gave Wes a strong effort with a team-leading eight kills, six aces, and three blocks on the day.

The two losses drop Wesleyan’s record to 2-5 (0-2 NESCAC). The next action for Wes will be this upcoming weekend in the Windy City, as the Cardinals will play four non-conference games at a tournament on the University of Chicago campus.