Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Volleyball team (14-4, 5-0) are in the middle of a long stretch of road games as they prepare to play four of their next five games on the road. That stretch continues this weekend when they play a pair of Mountain East Conference (MEC) games against Concord University on Friday and Glenville State on Saturday.
Wheeling had to battle in one of their most competitive games of the season last time out when they defeated West Liberty 3-2. Wheeling fell behind early in the game, dropping each of the first two sets and put themselves on the ropes. However, they came back and won each of the final three sets to earn the 3-2 victory and maintain their perfect conference record. After being held down early in the game, the Wheeling hitters came through across the final three sets and were one of the big factors in the win.
Leading the way was senior Kayla Bekier, who put together her best game of the season to date with 21 kills over the five sets. She fell just one kill shy of her career-high and paced the Cardinal's offense over the final three sets of the game. Sophomore setter Karly Niesen found her way back into the starting lineup on Tuesday night and was able to get the offense going with 50 assists, marking the fifth time this season that Niesen has had 50 or more assists in a game.
Defensively, the team did enough to keep them in the game, and they were led by two-time MEC Defensive Player of the Week Audrey Francis. Francis finished the night with a team-high 38 digs in the game and was all over the court. Freshman Riley Kindall did well in the back row as well, picking up 14 digs in the win. The Cardinal's servers did a nice job on the day, recording five total service aces, as they were led by senior Jenna Franks, who finished the day with two.
With the win, Wheeling preserves their one-game lead over Fairmont State in the MEC North Division and pushes their lead to two games over Notre Dame College. With one game remaining against both of those teams, the Cardinals still have some work ahead of them as they move towards the MEC playoffs in mid-November.
The Match-ups
Concord: The rivalry between the Cardinals and Mountain Lions dates back to the 2002 season, spanning 20 matches between the two teams. Wheeling has won all 20 of those matches and is 8-0 against Concord on the road. Their latest match-up came on November 15th, 2019, in a game that Wheeling would win 3-0. Former Cardinals Cassie Meyer and Breanna Kramer led the way in that match with 18 and 11 kills respectively, in the win.
Glenville State: Much like the match-up with the Mountain Lions, the Cardinals, and Pioneers rivalry also spans 20 matches dating back to the 2002 season. Also, the Cardinals have won all 20 games and are 9-0 against the Pioneers on the road. Their last game came on November 16th, 2019, in a game the Cardinals won 3-0. Former Cardinals Haley Kramer and Breanna Meyers led the way with 13 and 10 kills each in the win.
The Details
Tip-off for Friday's match against Concord is scheduled for 6 PM, and Saturday's game against Glenville starts at 11 AM. You can watch the Concord game live by clicking HERE and follow along with Live Stats HERE. To watch the Glenville State game live, click HERE, and to follow Live Stats click HERE.
