Wesleyan Volleyball Leveraging Team Culture to Achieve a Sweeping 10–0 Start to their Fall Season

After a comeback season and a return to the NCAA Tournament, Wesleyan women’s volleyball has picked up right where it left off. The No. 11 Cards are 10–0, and the team has built a cohesive group culture that has led to these straight victories. Still, the season is far from over.

This chemistry cultivated by the players, along with head coach Ben Somera, has been built over many practices, team activities, and long days. Specifically, coach Ben’s competitive drive and trust in his players are qualities that encouraged so many Cards to join the team. 

“He wants to win. I think everybody on our team does, and that’s why we all gravitated towards him,” Siena Steines ’28 said.

Coach Ben is also extremely organized, which Steines says contributes to the level of preparation the team feels. Monday practices are for smaller reps in the gym, Tuesdays are focused on positional work, Wednesdays are for playing and countering moves Ben has seen from other teams, and Thursdays are when they run lineups. This regimented schedule allows the team to be specific in their training and hone in on any opponent.

Beyond their competitive spirit, the team values connection. Mila Chan ’28 said, “He tries to get to know us on a personal level. He’s able to be ‘funny Ben’ sometimes, and not just ‘coach Ben.’”

Elli Moreno ’27, a veteran defensive specialist for the team, said that in high school, when she visited her friend on the team, Sophia Lindus ’26, she was instantly drawn to the welcoming environment. “The girls were super nice. We had breakfast together, and I just really felt like I fit in. This was somewhere I could be happy and be myself,” Moreno said. 

Although the team is focused on continuing their undefeated streak in the future, there’s no question they suffered a major loss of leadership and roleplayers this past year, with the graduation of both Lindus and Ali Landa ’26. Although they were “big roles to fill,” Steines says they left a legacy behind them and did a good job “instilling a lot of confidence in our younger classes.” 

Specifically, it seems that the 12-person junior class is ready to step in and fill those shoes with their confidence on the court. India Clark ’28 is a key offensive and defensive player, and Carly Grumet ’28 recently had a career game against Middlebury where she totaled career-highs in both kills and aces.  

Juniors aren’t the only ones working hard on and off the court. In particular, Lucy Konisky ’30 has stepped up and filled the shoes of the starting setter position, no small feat for a first-year. As Steines said, Konisky is “working really hard.” On Saturday, Sept. 12, in their match against Plymouth State, Konisky and Alexa Schnell ’29 co-led the team with eleven assists each. Moreno also recorded a team-high of eleven digs.  

Moreno explained that everyone on the team plays a role in their success. “Everybody works hard, trains hard, gets the same amount of reps,” she said. There’s no one key player that makes or breaks the game. In fact, Steines explained that this year there is more emphasis than ever on any player having to enter the game at any time. “We’re prepping for potential injuries. We’re prepping for different developments over the season in a way that I don’t think we did last year,” Steines said.

The team started their season off with a 3–0 weekend at the Heron Invitational, which set the tone for a competitive and successful season. The Cards had a fairly easy time against SUNY Oswego and SUNY Geneseo, beating them both handily in three sets. Their third match against William Smith was a bigger test.

“It was a good opportunity because the level of competition was a lot higher than against Oswego and SUNY Geneseo,” Chan said. “We could see cracks in our systems and what we needed to improve on.”

Chan and Grumet led the team in the Oswego game with eight kills each. Steines led the offense during the Geneseo game with nine kills and zero attack errors. Both players led the team to a crucial fourth-set win in the William Smith game to carry them to a tie-breaking fifth set, in which they both scored major points for the team to secure them the 15–7 set win. Steines ended the match with fourteen kills, earning MVP Honors for the tournament, while Chan received All-Tournament Team Honors with teammate Fiona LaCamera ’27. 

After the tournament, the Cards won seven consecutive games, beating NESCAC foes Hamilton, Middlebury, and Amherst along the way. Although the 10–0 start to the season is a big accomplishment for the team, it is certainly a high standard to live up to for the rest of their games. To stay on track and motivated, the seniors of the team implemented a tradition. At the beginning of the week, each player sets an intention for themselves. “We have a whiteboard in our locker room where we all write down our individual goals that we want to accomplish and work on this week,” Steines said.

Instead of focusing on the other side of the net, the Cards focus on themselves and what’s happening on their side. It’s all about playing their own game. This is where that trust they cultivate so deeply comes into play. Chan quoted Schnell, saying: “I trust you, you trust me. We are a family.” 

The team is hoping to maintain their winning streak ahead of a very important weekend, where they will face off against two in-state NESCAC rivals, Trinity and Connecticut College. Besides just getting the win, the team wants to continue building their community. Chan emphasized the importance of working together and building on that trust that’s so important to them. 

Moreno pointed out that she hopes the team continues to work on holding each other accountable. “I feel like when we uplift each other, it helps build that chemistry and trust,” she said. 

Beyond the community aspect of the game, Steines pointed out the sense of urgency the team should feel at this later point in the season. “Now we should have a clean system,” she said.

As they begin the second half of their season, the Cards want to continue focusing on building connection throughout the team, and especially across grade levels. “We’re not really disconnected by grades at all,” Moreno said, as opposed to last year, where she still felt they developed that culture throughout the season. 

On Friday, Oct. 2, the team will face off against Trinity on their home court at 6 p.m. Then on Saturday, Oct. 3, the Cards will head over to Conn. College for their game at 2 p.m. 

Leila Feldman can be reached at lfeldman01@wesleyan.edu.

Genevieve Eisner can be reached at geisner@wesleyan.edu.