WHEELING, W.Va. (Oct. 23) - The No. 18 Wheeling Jesuit University volleyball team knocked off Walsh 3-1 (25-14, 19-25, 25-23, 25-19) Tuesday night in a non-conference match at the McDonough Center.

The Cardinals, ranked No. 18 in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 poll, improve to 25-3 overall. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers fall to 15-11 this season.

Sophomore Makenna Babb (Arlington, Ohio/McComb) recorded her seventh kill-dig double-double of the season with 17 kills and 13 digs to lead the team. Junior Haley Kramer (Norwalk, Ohio/Monroeville) matched a team-best with 17 kills and added six blocks. Sophomore Cassie Meyer (Jackson Center, Ohio/Jackson Center) also chipped in a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs in the win and freshman Allonda Watkins (Beachwood, Ohio/Beachwood) tallied 11 kills with five blocks.

Recently-crowned Mountain East Conference (MEC) Player of the Week Stephanie Sylvester (Oregon, Ohio/St. Ursula Academy) tossed around 55 assists, while sophomore libero Audrey Francis (Sidney, Ohio/Fairlawan) paced the defense with 28 digs.

Wheeling Jesuit controlled the first set and had a run of nine-straight points that helped establish a 21-7 lead. Walsh managed to close the gap slightly, but a Sylvester ace put the finishing touches on a 25-14 win. The Cardinals hit a match-best .421 in the set with 18 kills on 38 attacks (two errors).

The Cavaliers came out with a different strategy in the second set and forced Wheeling Jesuit into a .150 hitting percentage with six errors. Walsh got into the Cardinal hitting lanes often and closed the set with a 13-4 stretch to tie the match up with a 25-19 win.

The third set was played tight, with both teams trading runs and points. Wheeling Jesuit trailed 19-17, before forcing tie scores at 20, 21, 22 and 23. Redshirt-sophomore Breanna Kramer (Norwalk, Ohio/Monroeville) picked up the 24th point with a kill, while Babb and Haley Kramer combined on a block to give the Cardinals a 25-23 set win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set was tied at 14, but WJU made a run to pull away for the win in the match. The Cardinals notched 11 of the next 16 points in the set, including a trio of kills by Babb, to secure their 25th win of the season.

The Cardinals established a new season-high with 13.5 total blocks in the match. Breanna Kramer finished with a match-high seven blocks.

Wheeling Jesuit, under the direction of Head Coach Christy Benner, has now won 25 matches or more in each of the past 12 seasons. 

The Cardinals will search for win No. 26 on Friday, October 26 when they host UVa.-Wise for a MEC match at 7 p.m.