Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Volleyball team (21-5, 12-1) hit the road for one final regular-season road game when they take on Notre Dame College on Friday at 7 PM. The Cardinals will look to stay hot as they prepare for the Mountain East Conference (MEC) playoff tournament in two weeks and try to keep their success going.
Wheeling is coming off a 3-0 sweep over Frostburg State last night, as well as the news that they were ranked #1 in the NCAA Division II Volleyball Atlantic Region. It was a battle against the Bobcats over the final two sets, with both going to win-by-two scenarios, but Wheeling was able to pick themselves up and get the sweep. The offense continued the success it has shown all season long, getting support from their defense and setter throughout the night.
Leading the way on offense throughout the night was the combination of freshman Mady Winters and senior Kayla Bekier. Winters led the day with 12 kills and a .357 hitting percentage, while Bekier was right behind her with 11 kills and a .290 hitting percentage. As a team, the Cardinals hit .387 on the night and are one of the top-hitting teams in the MEC. They lead the conference in total kills (1285) and are second in hitting percentage (.266) entering play on Friday.
However, the offense couldn't have been as successful as it has been without the work of sophomore setter Karly Niesen. Niesen is building off of her Freshman of the Year season last year and added 44 assists against Frostburg. She leads all NCAA Division II with 1,041 assists and is fourth, averaging 11.54 assists per set. On the defensive side, Audrey Francis leads the way with 629 digs, tops in all of Division II, and added 19 more digs to that number last night.
With just three regular-season games remaining, Wheeling sits atop the MEC North Division, holding a three-game lead over both West Liberty and Fairmont State. They have already qualified for the 2021 MEC tournament, which as of now will be held in Insititute, West Virginia, and are preparing themselves to face off against some of the best teams in the conference. These last few games will be a test to keep them sharp before the tournament begins.
The Match-up
Since 2009, the Cardinals and Falcons have matched up 18 times, with Wheeling winning all 18 of those match-ups. The last time the two teams met back in October, Wheeling was able to take all three sets, but Notre Dame fought them throughout the night. After going to a win-by-two scenario in the first set that Wheeling won 28-26, the Cardinals came back and won the final two sets by scores of 25-20 and 25-23.
Senior Lexi Reinert and freshman Riley Kindall led the way with 12 kills each in the game, while Reinert led the team with a .290 hitting percentage. Francis led the defensive effort with 32 digs, while senior Jenna Franks put up a season-high 17 digs in the game. If Wheeling wants to sweep the season series, they are going to have to bring the same amount of fight in their second match-up.
The Details
Tip-off for Friday's game is scheduled for 7 PM in South Euclid, Ohio. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
