Box Score Athens, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Volleyball team (15-4, 6-0) played their first of back-to-back road games when they faced Concord University on Friday at 6 PM. A career night for one of their star freshman led them to their fifth conference sweep of the year as they defeated the Mountain Lions 3-0.

That big day came courtesy of freshman Mady Winters, who tied her career-high with 12 kills in the match. She was part of a Cardinal hitting attack that combined for a .330 hitting percentage over the three sets and continues to be one of the top offenses in the Mountain East Conference (MEC). That offense, combined with a defensive effort that didn't allow the Mountain Lions to score more than 20 points in any of the three sets, led Wheeling to their sixth conference win of the season. After going through a battle with West Liberty in their last game, Wheeling was determined to come out strong this time out.

They were able to do just that in the first set when they jumped out to a 7-1 lead early in the set. The Wheeling servers got off to a strong start, with two service aces over the first seven points, and Winters picked up two of her 12 kills to open the set. The Mountain Lions would pull within two points of the Cardinals halfway through the set, but that is as close as they would get. Wheeling scored four of the last five points in the set to take a 25-15 set one win and a 1-0 lead in the match. As a team, Wheeling had a .340 hitting percentage in the first set and was just getting started.

The second set of the day once again saw Wheeling jump out to an early lead and were ahead 17-10 late in the set. However, it wasn't about the start in that set for Wheeling, but about how the Cardinals finished. Wheeling scored seven of the final eight points in the set, including two service aces, as they son the set 25-11. They now had a 2-0 lead in the match and were coming off the best performance by their hitters on the night. Wheeling's hitters totaled a .433, picking up 15 kills on 30 total attacks while committing just two attack errors in the set.

The third set was the most competitive of the three on the night, as both teams got off to an equally fast start. It was 9-9 early in the set before the Cardinals got going on offense. The Cardinals offense would score 12 of the next 17 points to boost their lead to 21-14. Winters finished the day scoring each of the final four kills for the Cardinals as they secured a 25-16 win and a clean sweep to finish out the match. Wheeling's hitters had a match-low .229 hitting percentage, but it was enough to secure the victory and move Wheeling to 6-0 in MEC play.

Winters was the only Cardinal to finish the day with double-digit kills, but senior Kayla Bekier followed behind her with eight kills of her own. Sophomore Karly Niesen helped her hitters throughout the night with 38 assists, while Karlee Lois adds two of her own coming off the bench. Senior Audrey Francis led the defensive effort with 18 digs while Lois added eight digs in the game. The win keeps Wheeling atop the MEC North Division as they hold a one-game lead over Fairmont State.

The Wheeling University Volleyball team is back in action tomorrow morning when they face Glenville State at 11 AM. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.