The Cardinals opened their season on Tuesday, Sep. 3, defeating the University of Hartford Wolf Pack in straight sets. The team recorded nine service aces, with captain and outside hitter (OH) Lila Sayre ’25 racking up five of them. Sayre’s five aces were the most individual aces a Cardinal has registered since 2016.

The Cardinals’ second game was also at home on Friday, Sep. 6 and followed the same script, with the Red and Black dominating Salve Regina University from the start, earning another sweep. It was another balanced attack. 11 players recorded at least 2 points, highlighted by OH Sophie Corbeil ’28, who had 9 kills in only her second collegiate start.  

Defensive specialist Adrienne Nguyen ’28 discussed what was working well in the first two games.

“I definitely think that the work that we did in the preseason, creating a really positive competitive environment, sort of leads into our game,” Nguyen said. “At those games we had really good control of our system responsibilities, and we kept riding off of this momentum high where we were getting kills after kills, and it was really fun overall.”

The next day, Saturday, Sept. 7, the Cardinals traveled to Babson, Mass. for their first of three Saturday doubleheaders. Their first match was against the Emerson College Lady Lions. It wasn’t as dominant as the first two games, but the Cardinals were clutch, winning all three sets by seven points or less.

After a brief intermission, the Cardinals matched up against the Babson College Beavers. The Beavers’ relentless offensive attack proved too much for the Cardinals; ultimately, Babson handed the Red and Black their first loss of the season in three sets.

The Cards returned to practice ready to learn from this loss. Their upcoming weekend would be strenuous, as they would play three matches in less than 24 hours against three capable teams.

The Cardinals’ first match was on Friday, Sep. 13 against the 7–2 Gallaudet University Bisons. They won the first two sets, but the Bisons punched back, rallying to take the third. It was the first match of the year that went beyond the third set, but that did not deter the Red and Black. The Cardinals got out to a fast start, opening up a 14–7 lead. Although the Bisons strung together some points to make it 22–20, the Cards won three of the last four points, with Corbeil ending the match with a vicious kill.

Setter Ali Landa ’26 praised the impact the first years have made.

“I think coming in as a freshman, it’s a huge change…but they’re all taking on such a big role, and they’re doing really well adapting to the new program and everyone’s working really hard,” Landa said. 

The next day was not as successful, as the Cardinals dropped their opening match to Middlebury. The Cardinals won a thrilling first set 27–25, but this proved to be the extent of their success, with the Panthers winning the next three sets. 

Wesleyan’s next bout was against the Smith College Pioneers, who entered the matchup 8–1. The Pioneers took the first set but the Cardinals took the second and third sets, led by captain and OH Michelle Jorba ’25, who recorded a team-high 13 kills. The Pioneers controlled the fourth set to force a 15-point fifth set. The Cards came out firing, opening up an early 7–4 lead, but the Pioneers found their groove and ultimately won 15–13. 

“Fifth sets are really hard,” Jorba said. “15 [points]—there’s such a small margin, and the moment that a team goes on a three-point run, it really does feel like you lost it all.” 

The next weekend the Cardinals traveled up to Maine for NESCAC matchups with Colby and Bowdoin on Friday, Sept. 20 and Saturday, Sept. 21. The Red and Black’s struggles continued as they fell to the Mules in straight sets and dropped to .500 on the season.

Jorba reflected on how the team contextualized this loss.

“Colby was a really hard game for me, after the game, because Colby celebrated like they had just won the Super Bowl,” Jorba said. “And that’s when we kind of realized that we are not the same team that we were last year. And I think that was a wake-up call for everyone.”

The Cardinals fought back the next day, defeating the Polar Bears in four sets. Five Cardinals recorded double-digit points; Sayre led the way with a career-high 15 kills to give the team their first NESCAC win of the season. 

“Winning away games when there’s a student section cheering against you, it feels really good,” Nguyen said. “And also, during that game, we really came together as a team. We had been working shots and making sure our first ball touches were really precise. And I think that that just was a culmination of all of our hard work of the past few weeks.”

Reeling from this win, the Cardinals had an intense week of practice leading up to another three-day invitation, this time in Scranton, Pa on the weekend of Friday, Sept. 27. This marked the third consecutive weekend the Cards played in different states, with eight total games in a 14-day period. Nguyen talked about the strain traveling can take. 

“The bus rides are really long, but then 30 minutes before we get to our hotel, we start doing an a capella battle and singing ‘Linger,’” Nguyen said. “And then [Head] Coach Ben [Somera] comes onto the bus, and we really discuss our responsibilities for the game, what our plans are, and some scouting reports. So focusing in on the last 30 minutes to an hour of the bus ride is what really helps us change our mentality from traveling to go-time.”

The University of Scranton Royals were first on the docket. The Cardinals won in four sets, aided by a season-high 29 assists from Landa. This win put the team at 6–4 on the season and gave them confidence as they prepared to play their last two out-of-conference road games. 

The Red and Black picked up where they left off on Saturday, Sept. 28, taking the first two sets from the Stevenson University Mustangs. The Mustangs bounced back, winning the third and fourth sets. In a crucial fifth set, which the Cards viewed as a turning point in their season, the two teams traded the first four points. Then the Cardinals unleashed a flurry of offense, winning 13 of the last 16 points to defeat the Mustangs and improve their win streak to three games.

Less than an hour after the Stevenson matchup ended, the Cardinals were back on the floor to face the Haverford College Fords. The match was closely contested, with each set decided by a margin of three points or fewer. However, the Fords maintained a slight edge in every set, ultimately winning all three. Unfortunately for the Cards, they would have to return home fresh off of a loss. Still, the team remained upbeat.

“I think it’s good that we have losses early on, because we’re able to learn from it,” Landa said. “Last year we had a long winning streak, and then we just didn’t know how to lose, per se. But this year, I think it’s always good when you have those losses right off the bat, because it kind of shows and highlights what we need to work on as a team. So I think just taking things we could do better from each game, and trying to work on that in practice.”

This Friday, Oct. 4, the Cards will host Trinity for their first home NESCAC game. The team is battle-tested, and with the majority of the conference schedule ahead, the Cards can leave their rocky start behind—starting when the Bantams come to Middletown. 

“I think that we have the potential to be so good, and I have this feeling that we’re gonna peak at the right moment,” Jorba said. “I think that we have had such a great learning experience in September from everything we’ve done wrong and everything we’ve done right, and I have faith that everyone is going to take that and translate it into October.”

Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu. 

Ethan Lee can be reached at ejlee@wesleyan.edu. 

Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu.