PENSACOLA, Fla. (Sept. 6) – The No. 13 Wheeling University volleyball team split its first two matches of the season at the University of West Florida Springhill Invitational Friday. The Cardinals opened the season with a 3-0 win over Florida Tech, before being dealt a 3-1 loss by No. 3 Western Washington.

THE RUNDOWN

• Final Score Match 1:  No. 13 Wheeling 3, Florida Tech 0 (25-9, 25-11, 25-13) Box Score
• Final Score Match 2: No. 3 Western Washington 3, No. 13 Wheeling 1 (26-24, 19-25, 25-19, 25-21) Box Score
• Records: Wheeling (1-1) | Western Washington (2-0) | Florida Tech (0-1)
• Location: UWF Field House – Pensacola, Fla.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. Florida Tech

• The Cardinals opened up a 10-3 lead in the first set and never looked back. Wheeling rolled off 12 of the final 13 points, including 11-straight, to claim a 25-9 win.
• Florida Tech kept the second set closer early on. Wheeling eventually pulled away at 11-7 with 12 of the next 15 points to take a 23-10 lead, before claiming the set.
• The Cardinals collected the first five points of the third set before cruising to a 25-13 win for the sweep. 

TEAM LEADERS

• Junior Cassie Meyer (Jackson Center, Ohio/Jackson Center) led the Cards with 11 kills and 15 digs.
• Senior Haley Kramer (Norwalk, Ohio/Monroeville) chipped in 10 kills.
• Senior Stephanie Sylvester (Oregon, Ohio/St. Ursula Academy) dished out 32 assists.
• Junior Audrey Francis (Sidney, Ohio/Fairlawn) finished with 27 digs, while junior Breanna Kramer (Norwalk, Ohio/Monroeville) recorded 10 to go with five kills.

MATCH NOTES

• Wheeling hit .313 (40 kills/5 errors/28 attacks), compared to the .049 (23/17/123) posted by Florida Tech.
• The Cardinals finished with seven aces. Wheeling never had more than six in a match last season. Junior Kenzie Schroer (New Knoxville, Ohio/New Knoxville) led the team with three.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. Western Washington

• The Cardinals were on the brink of taking the first set when they led 24-22.
• Western Washington rallied to take the next four points to claim the set win.
• Wheeling got back on track in the second set. The Cards trailed 10-9, before going on a 7-1 run to take control.
• The Vikings got as close as three (19-16), but Wheeling held them off for a 25-19 win to tie the match.
• The third set was tied at 15, before Western Washington finished the set on a 10-4 run to collect a 25-19 win.
• Wheeling led by scores of 13-10 and 15-14 in the fourth set.
• The Vikings held the edge in the back-half of the set and dealt the Cardinals the loss with a 25-21 set win.

TEAM LEADERS

• Breanna Kramer led Wheeling with 16 kills, while Meyer added 14 in the loss.
• Sylvester recorded a double-double with 42 assists and 15 digs.
• Francis and Schroer also turned in double-digit digs with 20 and 13, respectively.

MATCH NOTES

• Western Washington held a 13-to-4 advantage in blocks.
• The Cardinals forced 23 attack errors by the Vikings.
• Wheeling defeated Western Washington 3-0 last season in Florida.
• Western Washington is the defending national runner-up.

UP NEXT

• Wheeling will conclude play at the Springhill Invitational tomorrow, Saturday, September 7 at the UWF Field House.
• The Cards will take on Spring Hill (Ala.) at 11 a.m. (10 a.m. CT), before closing the day with host and No. 24 West Florida at 4 p.m. (3 p.m. CT).
• A live stream of the matches courtesy of West Florida will be available here.