Wheeling, W. Va. – After being on the road for the majority of October, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (19-5, 10-1) for a taste of their home floor on Friday when they hosted West Virginia Wesleyan. It took a balanced offensive attack, but Wheeling was able to earn the 3-0 sweep with wins of 25-18, 25-18, and 25-9.

The Cardinals did not have a single hitter in double-digit kills on the night, but they were able to spread the ball around. That was apparent right from the start of the first set when four different Cardinals registered the first four kills of the game. However, sophomore Raegan Rosi and senior Lexi Reinert gave Wheeling their first advantage of the game with two kills each and the Cardinals lead 11-6 halfway through the first set. It was a lead that Wheeling would not give up throughout the rest of the set, and they went on to win 25-18. Senior Layla Bekier slammed down the final kill and Wheeling found themselves ahead 1-0 after one set.

Bekier continued her success into the second set, scoring the first three kills. However, set two had a very similar feel to set one as five different Cardinals registered a kill in the set, and Wheeling jumped out to an 11-7 lead in set two. Wheeling would start to pull away after that going on an 8-3 run that pushed their lead to 19-10. After a few Bobcat errors set Wheeling up for the second set in, Lexi Smith and Mady Winters closed things out with back-to-back kills to win the set 25-18. Now with a 2-0 lead under their belts, Wheeling was looking to wrap up the sweep heading into set three.

They came out to their best offensive performance of the night in the third set. The Cardinals scored the first six points of the third set, led by sophomore Karly Niesen in the server's box, and took a 9-2 lead before the Bobcats called a timeout. The Wheeling hitters registered 11 kills on 20 total attacks as they put together a .500 hitting percentage in the set. Towards the end of the set, Wheeling began to bring in some reserves, and one of those reserves led the run that sealed the game. Junior Marlies Wendler took the servers box and led the Cardinals on a 4-0 run to extend the lead to 23-7. Wheeling allowed just two points the rest of the set and won the match 25-9.

One of the stars of the game for Wheeling was their setter Niesen, who led the way with 33 assists on the day. She spread the ball around and had all of her hitters ready to go throughout the night. It was a trio of hitters who led the offense with Rosi, Winters, and Reinert leading the way with seven kills apiece. Senior Audrey Francis led the defense with 22 digs, and Rosi finished behind her with seven digs on the day. It was an all-around team effort for Wheeling and started their weekend off on a positive note.

The Wheeling University Volleyball team is right back at it tomorrow afternoon when they host Davis & Elkins at 4 PM.