Wheeling, W. Va. - The NCAA Division II Volleyball Atlantic Region released its rankings on Wednesday, and the Wheeling University Volleyball team earned the number one spot in this year's rankings. Wheeling has gone 18-2 in region play this season and has an overall record of 20-5 against NCAA Division II opponents this season.
Overall, Wheeling has a 20-5 record this season and sits at 11-1 in Mountain East Conference play. They lead the MEC North Division by three games over Fairmont State and West Liberty University, who also made the Atlantic Region top 10. The Cardinal rank fifth in Division II in kills (1298), third in Division II in assists (1,212), and 12th in Division II in hitting percentage (.267). The Cardinals have been led by a strong offensive attack, led by a newcomer and some of their senior leaders.
Freshman Mady Winters leads the offensive charge with 216 kills this season and is second on the team with a .325 hitting percentage. She is followed by seniors Lexi Reinert (213) and Lexi Smith (206) to round out the team's top three attackers. The Wheeling hitters have been helped out by their sophomore setter Karly Niesen, who leads all of Division II Volleyball with 1,041 assists, and is fourth with 11.54 assists per set. Audrey Francis rounds out the Division II leaderboard leading all of Division II with 629 digs, and is second with 6.76 digs per set.
Wheeling was tested throughout October, playing six of their eight games on the road, and they handled the challenge well. Their only loss came in Institute, West Virginia when they fell to West Virginia State 3-2. However, they play two of their final three games of the regular season at home, where they have played some of their best Volleyball this season and look to get hot as they head towards the Mountain East Conference (MEC) playoffs, which will run November 18th through November 20th.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team is back in action on Friday when they head to South Euclid, Ohio to face Notre Dame College at 7 PM.
