CANTON, Ohio (Sept. 29) – Led by three players with double-digit kills, the No. 20 Wheeling Jesuit University volleyball team earned a 3-1 win (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 28-26) at Malone Saturday afternoon in a non-conference match.
 
The win improves the Cardinals, ranked No. 20 in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) top-25, to 15-3 overall. Meanwhile, the Pioneers fall to 11-8 on the season.
 
Sophomore Cassie Meyer (Jackson Center, Ohio/Jackson Center) led team with 27 kills and added 13 digs on defense. Junior Haley Kramer (Norwalk, Ohio/Monroeville) tallied 18 kills and matched a season-high with seven blocks, while sophomore Makenna Babb (Arlington, Ohio/McComb) finished with 10 kills in the win.
 
Junior setter Stephanie Sylvester (Oregon, Ohio/St. Ursula Academy) matched a season-high with 62 assists and added 14 digs. Sophomore libero Audrey Francis (Sidney, Ohio/Fairlawn) also matched a season-high with a match-best 34 digs, while freshman Jenna Karl (Tiro, Ohio/Buckeye Central) added 15 digs.
 
The Cardinals led 13-11 in the first set, before rolling off six of the next seven points to establish a 19-12 advantage. The Pioneers got as close as three, 23-20, but a pair of Haley Kramer kills closed out the set at 25-21.
 
Malone either led or was tied for the majority of the second set, including a 17-15 edge, but Wheeling Jesuit rallied to tie the set five times over the final 10 points. With the score tied at 21, the Cardinals closed out the set by gaining four of the next five points to collect a 2-0 lead in the match. Wheeling Jesuit was aided by a pair of crucial mistakes by Malone, including a ball handling error and a service error.
 
The Cardinals established a 7-2 lead early, but the Pioneers rallied and eventually tied the set at 15-15. Wheeling Jesuit would lead 22-20 late in the set, before Malone pulled out five of the next six points to notch a 25-23 win to extend the match.
 
The fourth set went back and forth and saw nine tie scores. The Pioneers were a point away from forcing a fifth set at 25-24 and 26-25, before Wheeling Jesuit notched the final three points of the match to claim the win at 28-26.
 
Wheeling Jesuit committed 25 attack errors in the match; the most in a match this season that did not go five sets.
 
The Cardinals are back on their home court on Wednesday, October 3 when they host the University of Indianapolis for a non-conference match at 5:30 p.m.