WHEELING, W.Va.---The No. 25 ranked Wheeling Jesuit volleyball team swept first day competition at the Nova Southeastern University tournament on Friday afternoon in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Cardinals captured the season opener in straight sets, defeating Wayne State University 25-23, 25-23 and 25-23, and the Cardinals returned to the court a couple of hours later to defeat Lynn University in the same fashion, 25-17, 25-19 and 25-23. 

In the first match, Jenna Pew and Allissa Ware powered the Cardinal offense, and newcomer Madison Strall tossed 24 assists. Pew grounded a team-high 13 kills, maintaining a .375 hitting percentage while Ware registered 12 kills, hitting .400 percent. Makenzie Ripley protected the back line and anchored the defense with a team high 12 digs, and above the net, Rachel Caja registered three blocks.

The Cardinals proved to be tough down the stretch, battling the Warriors to 29 ties and 10 lead changes before closing each set. In the first and third sets, the Cardinals rallied for the final two points by consecutive kills from Pew and Ware. In the middle set, Jesuit made their run while staring at a 22-21 deficit. Pew started the rally with a kill, and after a Warrior hitting error, Abby Wietrzykowski floored a point. After a second WSU error, Pew ended the set.

Against Lynn, the Cardinals flew to a 6-1 advantage, and continued to attack, extending the lead to 20-10 before closing out the first set. Jesuit continued to stay hot in the second set with a 14-7 run after trailing 12-11. In the final set, Jesuit built a 13-5 advantage, but the Blue Knights came charging back with a 15-7 run. With the set tied at 20 apiece, Strall and Wietrzykowski delivered back-to-back kills, and  Pew put the game away on consecutive strikes.

Pew led the offense with a double-double 17 kills and 14 assists with a sizzling .778 hitting percentage. Wietrzykowski followed with nine kills and Ware added eight, while Angela McNulty and Caja each tallied five. Ripley added 22 digs to her daily total, and Strall followed with nine digs.

Wheeling Jesuit will continue tournament play on Saturday with Texas A&M International at 9 a.m. and Nova Southeastern at 3 p.m.