WHEELING, W.Va. (Sept. 25) – The Wheeling Jesuit University volleyball team held off a late rally to claim a 3-0 win (25-23, 25-17, 26-24) over Seton Hill in a non-conference match Tuesday night inside the McDonough Center.
 
The Cardinals, ranked No. 20 in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) top-25 poll, improve to 14-3 overall. Meanwhile, the Griffins fall to 8-6 on the season.
 
Sophomore Cassie Meyer (Jackson Center, Ohio/Jackson Center) recorded her eighth kill-dig double-double of the season with a game-high 14 kills and 15 digs. Junior Haley Kramer (Norwalk, Ohio/Monroeville) added 12 kills and four blocks. Sophomore Makenna Babb (Arlington, Ohio/McComb) finished with nine kills and 16 digs in the win.
 
Junior setter Stephanie Sylvester (Oregon, Ohio/St. Ursula Academy) tossed around 40 assists on offense, while sophomore Audrey Francis (Sidney, Ohio/Fairlawn) had a team-best 20 digs.
 
The Griffins held the upper hand early in the match. Seton Hill led 13-8, before the Cardinals went on a 12-5 run to take a 20-18 lead. The Griffins reclaimed the lead at 22-21 and the set eventually went to a 23-23 tie, but Kramer came through with consecutive kills to close out a 25-23 set win for Wheeling Jesuit.
 
The Cardinals controlled the pace of the second set and went on multiple runs of three-straight points. WJU established an 18-9 lead and held off a run by the Griffins to close out a 25-17 win and 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Wheeling Jesuit looked poised to run away with the third set leading 21-15. Following a Seton Hill timeout, the Griffins went on an 8-1 run, including seven-straight, to take a 23-22 lead in the set. Seton Hill reached set-point at 24-23, but the Cardinals managed to get kills from Babb and Meyer to push the score to match-point. WJU secured the win with a Seton Hill attack-error to close out the set at 26-24.
 
Jillian Livorse led the Griffins with 13 kills and four blocks in the loss.
 
The Cardinals return to play on Saturday, September 29 when they travel to Canton, Ohio to take on Malone in a non-conference match.