WHEELING, W.Va.---The No. 19 ranked Wheeling Jesuit volleyball team fell two spots in the Top 25 poll on Monday without dropping a match last week, which may have fueled the Cardinals' play on Tuesday evening at the Alma Grace McDonough Center. The Cardinals played host to Shippensburg University in a high-stakes match for regional positioning. WJU appeared to be on a mission as the Cardinals defeated the Raiders in three straight sets by scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-19.

Wheeling Jesuit opened the match with a Kill by Jenna Pew and a service ace by Madison Strall. The Raiders followed with the next three points, establishing a 3-2 advantage. Jesuit retaliated with six consecutive scores behind the service of Makenzie Ripley and never looked back. With an 8-4 lead, the Cardinals continued to floor kills and deny attacks, building an 8-point, 20-12 lead. After the two teams traded points, Rachel Caja ended the set 25-16 with a kill.  

Jesuit continued to roll in the second frame, despite a 2-0 start by Shippensburg.  Pew floored the set's initial kill and Ware followed with the second. A Shippensburg ball handling error tied the set 3-3, and the Cardinals quickly made it 6-5 and cruised to a seven point advantage with three consecutive strikes by Ashley Remlinger, 14-8.  After a couple Raider points, Jesuit made another run, extending the lead to 20-13, and the two teams swapped points until Caja delivered the Cardinals' final attack.
The set ended 25-16 on a Shippensburg ball handling error.

In the final set, Caja floored the initial point for a 1-1 tie, and the two teams went back-and-forth until the scoreboard read 4-4. With the set tied, Remlinger pounded out the Cardinals' fifth point, which sparked a 6-0 run.  During the run, Ware and Angela McNulty grounded kills, Pew delivered a service ace and a tandem block by Ware and Remlinger gave the Cardinals a 10-4 lead. Shippensburg cut the lead in half at 13-10, and Jesuit fired back with three-straight points. Pew posted a kill and a solo block mixed with a kill by Strall for a 17-11 advantage, and after back-and-forth scores, Abby Wietrzykowski put away the final two points.

Ware led the Cardinals on both sides of the net with 14 kills and eight digs. Wietrzykowski followed with 12 kills, while Remlinger and Pew floored seven and six kills, respectively. Pew added seven assists, six digs and four blocks, while Strall posted a team-best 24 assists coupled with six digs, two kills and a block.

Wheeling Jesuit will be back in action on Wednesday evening (Oct. 17) at the Alma Grace McDonough Center, playing host to Fairmont State University. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.