Box Score WHEELING, W. Va. - The Wheeling Jesuit Volleyball squad faced a dangerous regional foe on Tuesday night in Clarion University. It was fan appreciation night at the Alma Grace McDonough Center, and the Cardinals certainly gave the fans what they wanted to see, beating Clarion in straight sets 25-17, 25-21, and 25-20.
The win puts the Cardinals at 20-3 heading into the business end of the season, but more importantly, gives WJU a big leg up in regional competition, and draws a clear line in the sand for upcoming opponents.
"I'm excited about the win, but we still have a lot more volleyball to play," said WJU head coach
Christy Benner. "Tonight, we went out and made some early errors but took care of the ball when we had to. So we're not looking ahead though. We just have to take it one match at a time, and take care of business in conference."
The Cardinal defense was the story in the first set, seemingly having a reply to every Clarion attack.
Haley Kindall the freshman from Westerville, Ohio and
Madison Strall, the sophomore out of Toledo were monsters at the net, with a pair of block assists each. Eventually the Cardinal wall of defense was too much for Clarion, falling in the first set 25-17.
The defense set the tone for the rest of the evening as well with the Cardinals racking up 46 digs and 16 block assists. Leading the defense was
Makenzie Ripley (Dennison, Ohio) with13 digs to her name.
Corrin Early (Medina, Ohio) and
Kayce Krucki (Findlay, Ohio) also had nine digs apiece to keep the Clarion attack at bay.
Leading the Cardinals on the offensive side of the net was three of WJU's best attackers this season.
Jenna Pew, who received Mountain East Player of the Week honors for the second time this season last week, followed suit with another strong performance, tallying 10 kills and 17 assists. Also leading the way with 10 kills each were Kindall and Krucki.
The Cardinals return to the court on Friday against Mountain East Conference foe Notre Dame College at 7pm before celebrating Senior Night on Saturday with a double-header against Urbana University (1pm) and Glenville State (3pm).
