Author: David Gottlieb

Men’s hockey is still undefeated in conference play, having continued their excellent play through a four-game winning streak. The Cardinals have pummeled the NESCAC with victories over Tufts, Conn. College, Amherst, and Hamilton. Now after winter break, they have a stellar record of 10-0-2 in conference and 12-4-2 overall.

In the win over Conn. College, the Cards won 6-3 with each goal scored by a different player. Star goalie Tim Sestak ’20 made 25 saves in the victory. Next, in the win over Tufts, the Cards won 3-0 with Tyler Kobryn ’20, Tyler Wyatt ’20, and Spencer Fox ’20 providing the offense. Sestak made 25 saves in the shutout victory. Sestak then went on to have another shutout in the 1-0 win over Amherst in which he made an insane 47 saves. Earlier this week, Sestak was named NESCAC Player of the Week for the effort.

The Red and Black capped off a great week with a come-from-behind victory over Hamilton. They scored four goals in a row after being down 2-0 to win 4-2. Walker Harris ’20 scored the game winning goal shorthanded in the victory while Sestak made 24 saves.

Captain Chad Malinowski ’19 attributes recent success to the cohesiveness on the ice.

“The key to our success has been team defense,” Malinowski said. “Obviously we have been getting great goaltending, but the defense has been doing a great job of keeping shots from the outside and clearing rebounds. Our forwards have been doing a great job back checking and playing strong defensively.”

Malinowski also added that effort has played a huge role in the success this season.

“From the first day of practice we talked about the importance of playing the right way,” Malinowski said. “Over this whole season we haven’t been satisfied with simply winning; we’ve been focused on improving our play every day. Over these last few games we have really been trying to focus on the little things: good line changes and discipline. We continue to hold ourselves to a high standard and work to improve our game.”

Next up, the Cards have two key NESCAC games, against Middlebury and Williams, before returning home.

“The key to finishing the season is continuing to do the same things we’ve been doing thus far,” Malinowski said. “We are two-thirds of the way through the NESCAC and are still undefeated, so we have the proof that our game plan works. We need to continue to sharpen our game and stay focused because everything matters.”

The women’s team didn’t fair as well in conference play; however, they have strung together some good performances. They won their second NESCAC game of the season, on Saturday afternoon, defeating Bowdoin 4-0 after tying Hamilton the week before.

In the win over Bowdoin, four different players scored for the team, and Allegra Grant ’20 made 29 saves and picked up her third shutout of the year.

Captain Grace Keogh ’19 said that the key to the positive performances has been the team effort and work ethic.

“Our play in last Tuesday’s game against Hamilton combined effort and execution, which allowed us to play effectively as a unit,” Keogh said. “Going into the Bowdoin weekend, we wanted to channel those same concepts: playing together, working hard, executing our roles, and capitalizing on offensive opportunities. When we possess all of these components, as we did against Hamilton and on Saturday against Bowdoin, we elevate our game and create positive outcomes.”

Keogh noted that playing with a better sense of urgency was key to bouncing back after a tough Friday night loss.

“After playing Bowdoin on Friday, no one was satisfied with the outcome,” Keogh added. “There was palpable frustration, but everyone was confident that Saturday’s game was one we could win. On Saturday, we played with a sense of urgency and came together as a group. Playing for something bigger than ourselves was a theme for the day, given that it was our Pink Game, which we play in support of the Joan B. Kilar Fund, our team’s breast cancer foundation that honors Jackie Kilar’s [’20] mother.”

Next up, the Cards take on Middlebury on Friday and Saturday.

“Going forward, we need to consistently bring strong effort and execution to each game that we play,” Keogh said. “With just three weeks left of the regular season, every game can influence our standing in playoffs. Playing as a unit and with a sense of urgency will help us get the outcomes we are seeking as the season wraps up.”

Come out and cheer on the Cards as they play crucial ’CAC competitors over these next two weeks. The women’s team plays Middlebury at 7 p.m. this Friday and 3 p.m. this Saturday. The men’s team will take on Bowdoin on Friday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. and Colby on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 3 p.m.

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.

The volleyball team’s magical run finally came to an end. The Cardinals were defeated in the NCAA National Quarterfinals by Juniata College in Pittsburgh, Penn. The battle was a tough, five-set match.

The score of the match was 20-25, 25-13, 18-25, 25-22, 15-12. The Cardinals won the first and third sets, and they were also leading the fifth 12-9 before Juniata came back and won in heartbreaking fashion.

In the loss, the Cards had 56 kills with 88 digs. Captain Madeleine Lundberg ’19 led the team with 17 kills and Phia Bellizzi ’21 led the team with 32 digs. The key stat in the loss, though, was hitting percentage as Juniata had .20 hitting percentage while the Cardinals only had .139 hitting percentage.

Despite the disappointing end to the season, the Cards had a historically great season, going 20-6 and making it to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. This season was a total team effort, and everyone did their part to contribute. Many players shined this year including Bellizzi and Mia Hogan ’20 who both made All-NESCAC Teams. In addition, Bellizzi was named a Third Team All-American and Kaira Muraoka-Roberston ’20 earned an All-American Honorable Mention.

Besides these individual players, what really made the team successful was the emphasis on teamwork and focusing hard in practice. Head coach Ben Somera and Lundberg have talked about the team’s work ethic all season, and it really showed in games as everyone worked together as a team and believed in one another during the run through the Regional Championship.

This historic season shows how far the volleyball program has come here at Wesleyan since Somera took over. In Somera’s first year, the team went 5-15 overall and 1-9 in the NESCAC. Now three years later, they have won a NESCAC title, made back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, and made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Lundberg, who was a first year on that 5-15 team, credits the coaching and the culture for how far the program has come.

“I feel so lucky to have gotten to be a part of this program and watch it grow,” Lundberg said. “The transformation we’ve seen is really incredible. So much of our success is really because of Ben and [assistant coach] Aly [Torline]; they are the most knowledgeable and dedicated coaches I have ever played for, and they have really created a gym culture that is so fun to be a part of. It has also been such a privilege to get to play with my teammates; their dedication and constant sacrifice for each other is inspiring and I know that they will continue to lead the team to greatness in the years to come.”

This success in the sport of volleyball comes right after the University won its first ever National Championship in lacrosse and shows how Wesleyan is continuing to build its athletic program to become a respectable university throughout all of Division III. Wesleyan has done a lot to bring its athletic program to where it is today as it has begun to really compete with some of the top DIII programs. This is just the beginning as Wes hopes to keep succeeding in all sports. Bring on the winter.

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.

Volleyball’s defense of the NESCAC title came up short last weekend as they lost to Amherst in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Their defense began with a convincing three set win over Bates in the quarterfinals by the score of  25-15, 25-19, and 25-20. In the win, the Cardinals had 39 kills and 89 digs. Mia Hogan ’20 led the Cards with 12 kills and Phia Bellizzi ’21 led the team with 24 digs. The loss to Amherst, though, is especially surprising considering Amherst was seeded lower than the Wes in the tournament and swept the Cards in three straight sets, an event that has only happened twice before this season. The Cards totaled 38 kills with 78 digs throughout the 21-25, 21-25, and 22-25 loss. Stasie Litinsky ’20 led the team with 11 kills while Bellizzi topped out with 22 digs. However, that was not enough to stop a strong performance by Amherst.

Despite not winning the NESCAC tournament, the Red and Black were able to secure an at-large berth into the NCAA DIII volleyball tournament with their superb 17-5 record. Wesleyan was the only NESCAC team to receive one of these bids, an impressive achievement. This is the first time ever the Cardinals have made back-to-back NCAA tournaments, an even more impressive feat. Also, this marks only the third time in school history that the Birds will join the NCAA tournament field.

The Cardinals will play Kean University at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, R.I. on Friday at 12:30. The winner of this match will face the winner of a match between Springfield College and Maine Maritime Academy. Kean finished the year at 19-15 and got to the NCAA tournament by virtue of winning its second straight NJAC conference championship. This is only the Cards second ever meeting against Kean, the first having been a win in 1999.

In order to go far in the tournament, the team will have to know their strengths and weaknesses. Defense has been crucial to the Cards success this season as they led NESCAC in digs with 767 and averaged 19.67 digs per set. This effort was led by Bellizzi who averaged 5.94 digs per set to lead all of NESCAC. They will need the same type of defensive effort if they want to advance in the NCAA Tournament.

Likewise, the Birds will need to improve upon the .133 hitting percentage they had vs. Amherst last weekend. On the whole, the offensive side can improve. Feeding the dominant Nicole Hilton ’20 in the middle of the court is always a good strategy, especially against teams that have yet to face Wes. The Red and Black have a good chance and should be optimistic heading into the tournament. Hopefully, the Cards can end the season on a positive note by going on a deep run in the tournament after a tough NESCAC tournament loss.

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.

Volleyball wrapped up their regular season by winning five of their last seven matches, with its only losses coming against Susquehanna University and Bowdoin. The Cardinals began this latest stretch of games by beating Franklin & Marshall College in three sets, 25-16, 26-24, and 25-22. In the win, the Cards totaled 42 kills with 75 digs. Mia Hogan ’20 led the way with 15 kills while Phia Bellizzi ’21 led the team with 21 kills. The Cards then had their winning streak snapped when they lost to Susquehanna in three sets. In the loss, the Cards totaled 35 kills and 64 digs led by Stasie Litinsky ’20 who had 8 kills and Bellizzi who had 16 digs. The Cards then rebounded to defeat Swarthmore College in four sets: 25-23, 27-29, 25-16, 25-14. Wesleyan posted 53 kills and 89 digs in the victory. Litinsky led the team again with 20 kills and Bellizzi added 30 digs.

Most recently, the Cards wrapped up their conference schedule by losing to Bowdoin, but rebounding with a comeback win over Tufts in five sets. In the four-set loss to Bowdoin, the Cards totaled 58 kills with 106 digs. Hogan led the Cards with 17 digs while Bellizzi once again led the team with 32 digs.  The loss meant that Bowdoin would be hosting each game of the NESCAC Championship next week, with Wesleyan taking the second seed. In the five-set thriller against Tufts, the Cards totaled 52 kills and 65 digs with Litinsky and Bellizzi leading in those categories once again respectively. Head coach Ben Somera said they have looked better than in previous years, but fatigue is still setting in.

“I would say we look better than we have at this point in previous seasons,” Somera said. “However, the signs of mental fatigue have definitely creeped into the practice gym the past two weeks. Our players want to excel on the court and in the classroom, and the drive and competitiveness that makes them good players also makes them diligent students. When midterms and papers are due there are more late nights and more stress, and that is true for every team in the country. So we can’t make any excuses but we were better at it this year than others.”

Captain Madeleine Lundberg ’19 agreed with his assessment.

“We definitely had two tough games this past weekend, Bowdoin and Tufts are both really solid teams,” Lundberg said. “Overall, I think we played well, but there is definitely always room for improvement. We are hoping to have a great week of practice this week to best prepare for the NESCAC tournament.”

Somera added that the comeback win over Tufts was important as the team looks to defend its title. 

“I think it was really important for a lot of different reasons,” he said. “We could have easily rolled over and given up and limped into the NESCAC Tournament with a lot of doubt in our minds. The match gave us an opportunity to test our resilience and show that we learned the lessons our previous losses this season have taught us.”

Next up, the Cards head to Bowdoin for the NESCAC tournament where they will begin as the second seed playing the seventh-seeded Bates in the quarterfinals.

Somera said that they will be able to build off of a tough loss to a team like Bowdoin.

“After the match ended, I felt like our emotional and physical effort were at a really good level but mentally we weren’t sharp,” he said. “We had a lot of opportunities to win sets and the plays we didn’t execute in those critical moments are things we have control of on our side of the net. We played an okay match from a mental stand point and we were very competitive. If we clean up a few things this week, we will be exactly where we need to be.  Our team is in familiar situation as the second seed in the tournament, and with a good week of practice we will be more focused and a lot sharper this coming weekend.”

Expectations are high as the team looks to repeat its defend its first-ever NESCAC tournament title. 

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.

Women’s volleyball extended its NESCAC winning streak to eight games by beating Middlebury, Colby, and Bates over the past two weekends and pushed its overall record to 13-2 on the season.

In the game against Middlebury, the Cardinals won in four sets by scores of 25-22, 25-19, 25-27, and 25-18. In the win, Wesleyan totaled 67 kills and 85 digs. Stasie Litinsky ’20 and Mia Hogan ’20 each tied for the team lead with 16 kills, while Phia Bellizzi ’21 led the team with 29 digs. The Cards then defeated Colby on Senior Night on Friday, winning easily 25-12, 25-20, and 25-14. In this match, the Cards totaled 34 kills with 47 digs. Nicole Hilton ’20 led the team with eight kills while Bellizzi once again led the team with 15 digs. The Cards then capped off an undefeated home schedule by beating Bates in four sets 21-25, 25-6, 25-21, and 25-22. The team totaled 59 kills led by Maddie Kurke ’22, who had 19 kills in the victory. The Cards also totaled 100 digs in the win led by Bellizzi, who had a season high 29 digs to lead the team in the win. Head coach Ben Somera attributed the success to maintaining focus in their games as something that is a strength but also  is something they need to continue to work on.

“We look really good when we are fully engaged in competing, but we need to continue to lengthen the duration that we are fully focused and playing our best,” Somera said.

The Cardinals are undefeated in the NESCAC with an 8-0 record. Somera’s desire for improvement likely stems from the two out-of-conference losses suffered by the Cardinals. After a NESCAC title last year, it is probable that Somera and his team have their sights set on a journey deep into the NCAA Tournament.

Madeleine Lundberg ’19 added that their hard work in practice was a big reason for the success they have been having over these last few weeks.

“I think what we did well consistently over the past two weekends was translate things we learned in practice to the game,” Lundberg said. “We had two really solid weeks of practice, and we were able to take what we worked on in those practices and used it to stay consistent and clean throughout all three games.”

She also said a big part of the victories was their mentality, especially after losing the first set against Bates.

“Going into the second set against Bates we really focused on cleaning up our mental game,” Lunderg said.“We did a much better job of finding our hitters and executing in our system to force them into situations where they couldn’t be as offensive.”

Somera agreed with Lundberg’s assessment of the match.

“I felt like we beat ourselves in the first set and didn’t really give the mental effort needed to compete at a high level,” Somera said. “For us, the key was to make new choices about how we were going to compete. I think every team has matches when they hope to win with as little effort as possible, and we need to do a better job of not allowing records and rankings to determine our effort and focus. We were able to accept our miscalculation of the opponent and made a mental change before it led to a loss.”

For the average spectator, it can be clear what Somera means when he talks about self-defeating play. Most points won by Cardinal opponents are missed shots from the Cardinal side of the net, not clear winners from the opposing side.

Next up the Cardinals take on three non-conference opponents in Franklin & Marshall College, Susquehanna University, and Swarthmore College before wrapping up their regular season with two NESCAC road matches against Tufts and Bowdoin. A win over Tufts and Bowdoin would secure the number one seed and an undefeated NESCAC record. Bowdoin also holds an undefeated record, so if the two teams go into the matchup 9-0, the winner will earn the top seed in the tournament. 

“We want to continue to improve,” Lundberg said. “We’re all hungry for another NESCAC championship, and we want to make sure that we don’t get complacent with our level of play. We want to keep getting better and keep learning every day in practice so we can set the bar higher and hold each other accountable to an even higher standard.” 

Somera again concurred with his player.

“I believe we need to continue to improve and make the most of each practice opportunity,” Somera said. “When you practice well the team builds trust, and when you trust your teammates you feel confident. Confidence gives you the strength to face adversity without panicking.”  

The Cardinals hope to translate this talk into result and win out their final five matches, all on the road. The next time they will play at home will be the first round of the playoffs. 

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.

Volleyball had another successful weekend last week, clinching back-to-back Little Three titles with a win over Amherst on Saturday. This was the highlight of a weekend in which the team won three games and only lost for the second time this entire season, bringing their record to 10-2.  The weekend began for the Cards with a convincing win over Westfield State University at home in three sets. They won each set by a score of 25-12. The team totaled 36 kills with 37 digs. Madeleine Lundberg ’19 and Nicole Hilton ’20 led the Cardinals with seven kills. Lundberg also led the team in digs with nine.

The team went on the road Friday night to defeat Trinity in four sets, 25-12, 19-25, 25-21, and 25-17. In this game, Mia Hogan ’20 led the team with 15 kills and Phia Bellizzi ’21 led the team with 21 digs.

The biggest win of the weekend was over Amherst in straight sets to win the Little Three, 25-20, 26-24, and 25-15. It is the third all-time Little Three title for the Cards. In the game, Maddie Kurke ’22 led the Cardinals with kills in, and Bellizzi once again led the team in digs with 15. The team was unable to sweep the weekend, as they fell to Endicott College in four tough sets, and the winning streak was capped at 10.

Captain Madeleine Lundberg ’19 said that the key to the weekend’s success was the team’s focus.

“I think one of the big key to our wins over the weekend was staying focused in every phase of the game,” Lundberg said. “In our game against Amherst, we were able to stay disciplined and execute our system on our side of the net throughout the entirety of the game, and that really helped us find our rhythm and stay consistent throughout all three sets.”

As a senior, she is thrilled to have won back-to-back Little Three titles.

“It feels awesome—it’s been so great to see the program develop over the past four years, and I’m so proud of how far we’ve come,” she said.

Another thing to keep your eye on is the prospect of Hilton repeating as NESCAC Player of the Year. She’s having another great campaign, averaging over two kills per set and just under .25 hit percentage. These are solid numbers with great potential to catch the attention of the NESCAC award voters.

On the other hand, there are certain areas of the game that need improvement in order to successfully defend the NESCAC title. Wesleyan is only averaging 1.5 blocks per set on the season, which is sustainable for now with the amount of digs that they get. However, if as the season goes on this average stays the same, defense could become a real concern.

On a more positive note, the Red and Black are undefeated in the NESCAC, currently tied for first place with Bowdoin. The Birds look to carry on their undefeated record this weekend.

Next up, the Cards continue their conference schedule with a matchup versus Middlebury at home tomorrow, Oct. 6.

“We’re hoping to take the momentum from our win against Amherst as well as learn from our loss against Endicott to continue to progress and get better as the season goes on,” Lundberg said.

Come out and cheer on the Cards at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Silloway Gymnasium.

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.

It’s a streak! Last weekend, volleyball extended their winning streak to seven games. Their record is now an impressive 7-1, coming from a string of three more wins over the weekend. On Thursday night, the Cardinals beat Connecticut College in five tough sets, winning 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 22-25, and 15-6. The Cards totaled 58 kills across the five sets, along with 90 digs. Harper Graves ’21 and Stasie Litinsky ’20 each had a team high nine kills in the victory, while Phia Bellizzi ’21 had a team high 24 digs.

The Cardinals then took on Roger Williams University, the program which Wesleyan head coach Ben Somera had previously led for three highly successful seasons. The Cards won easily in three sets, 25-17, 25-22, 25-11. Against Roger Williams, the team totaled 36 kills with 58 digs. Once again, Litinsky led the team in kills and Bellizzi in digs.

The Cards then capped off a dominant weekend, winning over Scranton University in four sets 22-25, 25-15. 25-16, 25-17. The team totaled 41 kills with 69 digs. In an impressive performance, Maddie Kurke ’22 and Mia Hogan ’20 both posted double-digit kills. On the defensive side, Bellizzi again led the digs category with 27.

Coach Ben Somera was pleased with how the Cards were able to come away victorious. However, he stressed that there is much room for improvements.

“We look good this weekend, but there is still a lot of work to be done,” Somera said. “We have stretches of play when everyone on the court is doing their system responsibilities, but we also have stretches where we beat ourselves. Our improvements from here on out are less about technical development and more about mental focus and being accountable to each other as a team. As we improve on that, our good stretches will lengthen, and we will have less bad stretches of play”.

Somera also added more about what he thinks have been the keys to his team’s success so far.

“The key to our high level of play throughout our winning streak has been the quality of our first contacts,” Somera said.“We serve pass and dig very well and that puts us in a great position to score.”

Captain Madeleine Lundberg ’19 agreed with the fact that they looked good all around this weekend.

“I think we played really well,” Lundberg said. “Playing three games in a row is never easy, but we handled it well and continued to execute even in our last game of the weekend.”

Lundberg believes that their sustained success in games is a direct reflection of their specific practice techniques.

“Playing hard in practice every day has been a huge key to success,” Lundberg said. “Pushing ourselves to play at our full potential even when not in a game-like setting has really set us up to be successful and to be able to stay mentally focused even during close games.”

This mental toughness was on full display in the match against Connecticut College when they battled back and persevered to win in five sets.

“Our key to the Connecticut College win was perseverance,” Somera said. “We weren’t completely engaged in the process that night and made a lot of silly errors. Mia Hogan ’20 gave us a big lift with her play and was a spark that we could rally around.”

Lundberg agreed that the Connecticut College game was a learning experience.

“I think we learned a lot from our game against Conn, and we were able to take those lessons into the weekend,” Lundberg said. “We’re excited to continue to progress as the season continues, and so we’re taking every game as a learning opportunity and a chance to improve.”

If you want to watch the Cards this week, the next game is a 7 p.m. matchup this Thursday at home against Westfield State University. Looking further ahead, the Red and Black play four games next weekend, including two NESCAC road battles versus Amherst and Trinity.

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.

After a positive opening weekend with two non-conference wins, the volleyball team opened up conference play with two huge NESCAC wins this weekend, highlighted by a tough four-set win over Williams. In front of a raucous crowd at Silloway Gymnasium, the Cards battled back from a set down to win the match. The Birds won each of the last three sets: 25-21, 25-20, and 25-17. Wesleyan had 58 kills for the match, as star-hitter Nicole Hilton ’20 led the way with 15. In the category of digs, Wesleyan had 69 for the match with Phia Bellizzi ’21 posting a team-high 20.

The Cards followed up this performance with a dominating three-set win over Hamilton on Saturday afternoon, winning 25-14, 25-10, and 25-21. In this game, the Cards had 41 kills with Mia Jago ’22 and Harper Graves ’21 each tied for the lead with nine. They also had 62 digs paced by Bellizzi’s 22.

Jago received NESCAC Player of the Week honors for her incredible performances this weekend in both games.

So far this season, Head Coach Ben Somera has been pleased with the team’s performance and preparation.

“I think it is really important to have a good week of practice and make sure our team is transparent in their intention to get better each day,” Somera said. “When each team member is doing their part to improve on a daily basis, our team chemistry and trust in our system improves.”

He also added that the good week of practice was key to making in game adjustments during the match against Williams after dropping the first set.

“I think the first step is to understand why we dropped the first set,” Somera said. “I didn’t feel like it was anything Williams had done to us because we really beat ourselves by missing three serves and having a few to many attack errors.”

On Friday night, Silloway was filled by a large and raucous home crowd, primarily made up of students. The atmosphere added extra adrenaline to the already motivated squad.

“Our team was really excited to play on Friday, and we had a big crowd, so we might have just been too pumped up,” Somera said.  “It really brings us back to having a good week of practice leading up to the matches. When you practice well all week, no one panics.”

Wesleyan next has three games against Conn College, Roger Williams University, and Scranton University—all on the road this upcoming weekend.

Somera says the most important thing in continuing to build on their great start is remembering the goals the team set earlier this season.

“We remind the team of the goals we haven’t achieved yet and why it is so important to continue to improve each week,” he said. “We are actually competing against every team in our region and across the country to be the best team at the end of the season, not just the best NESCAC program.”

“Our program is at a point where our goals extend beyond our conference, and our team understands that we do not have the luxury of wasting time if we want to compete for regional and national championships,” Somera said. “We have a very finite number of opportunities to get better, and our NESCAC legislation puts us at a big disadvantage early in the season relative to the teams we are competing against outside our league for regional and national rankings.”

The Cardinals hope to continue their hot start when they return home on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. versus Westfield State University.

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.