WHEELING, W.Va. (Sept. 21) – The No. 22 Wheeling University volleyball team scooped up wins over Slippery Rock and Shippensburg Saturday at the McDonough Center on the final day of the Atlantic Region Crossover.

THE RUNDOWN

• Final Score Match 1:  No. 22 Wheeling 3, Slippery Rock 0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-19) Box Score
• Final Score Match 2:  No. 22 Wheeling 3, Shippensburg 0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-20) Box Score
• Records: Wheeling (9-3) | Slippery Rock (5-6) | Shippensburg (8-3)
• Location: Alma Grace McDonough Center – Wheeling, West Virginia

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. Slippery Rock

• The Cardinals claimed the first six points of the match and looked to be on their way with a 7-1 lead early.
• Slippery Rock rallied back to a one-point deficit multiple times, but Wheeling maintained the lead throughout the set. The Cards eventually closed out the set with four-straight points, including kills by junior Breanna Kramer (Norwalk, Ohio/Monroeville) and junior Abby Strait (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport).
• Slippery Rock held a lead early on in the second set, before the Cardinals assumed command with nine of the final 11 points in the set to win 25-15.
• Wheeling put the match away in the third set. With the score tied at 15, the Cardinals out-scored The Rock 10-to-4 to win set at 25-19 and clinch a sweep.

TEAM LEADERS

• Kramer led the team with a double-double of 15 kills and 12 digs.
• Senior setter Stephanie Sylvester (Oregon, Ohio/St. Ursula Academy) posted 43 assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. Shippensburg

• The two squads were neck and neck throughout the first set. Wheeling led 23-22 and managed to get a kill from senior Haley Kramer (Norwalk, Ohio/Monroeville) and a Shippensburg service error to hold on for a 25-23 win.
• The Cardinals trailed 11-10 in the second set, but a string of seven out of the next eight points propelled Wheeling into a 17-12 lead. 
• The Red Raiders were unable to recover, and a Strait kill gave the Cardinals a 25-17 win.
• The third set was a tight contest with the score tied at 14-14 halfway through. Wheeling closed out the set and the match with 11 of the next 16 points, including a trio of kills by junior Cassie Meyer (Jackson Center, Ohio/Jackson Center) to help clinch the sweep.

MATCH NOTES

• Sophomore Allonda Watkins (Beachwood, Ohio/Beachwood) finished with seven kills and a career-high nine blocks in the win.
• The Cardinals as a team finished with 14 blocks, matching a season-high established Friday against Clarion.
• Meyer posted a double-double with 11 kills and 12 assists.
• Breanna Kramer also recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 14 digs.
• Sylvester tossed around 41 assists in the match.

UP NEXT

• Wheeling returns to the court on Tuesday, September 24 to take on Indiana (Pa.) in a non-conference match at 6 p.m.
• A live stream of the match will be available online and on The Mountain East Digital Network OTT app (Roku, AppleTV, Android, and Amazon Fire TV) or by visiting MountainEast.tv/wju.