Wheeling, W. Va. - As the regular season wraps up, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (22-5, 13-1) looks to stay hot before embarking on the 2021 Mountain East Conference (MEC) playoffs next week. They round out the regular season with two home games, with the first being against Alderson Broaddus on Tuesday at 7 PM inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center.

The Cardinals wrapped up their road portion of the regular season on Friday when they went to South Euclid, Ohio to face off against Notre Dame College. After a slow start, Wheeling's hitters got going, leading them to wins of 25-13 and 25-14 in the second and third sets to pick up the sweep. Their offense continued to be successful as they have all season, with freshman Mady Winters leading the way with an impressive .357 hitting percentage throughout the day.

For the second straight game, Winters finished with 12 kills and brought her total for the week up to 24 and a solid .368 hitting percentage. She has been a strong force in the middle of the Wheeling court, and uses her power to rack up kills. Finishing right behind her on the day was fellow middle Lexi Smith, who added 11 kills to her ledger and an even more impressive .476 hitting percentage. As a team, Wheeling managed to hit an impressive .291 in the match and continued to build on their .267 hitting percentage this season, which ranks second in the Mountain East Conference.

Two key performers who were once again on their game we're Karly Niesen and Audrey Francis. Niesen built on her NCAA Division II lead in assists, finishing the night with 40 assists in the win. On the defensive side of the ball, Francis kept her success going on defense with a team-high 17 digs in the game.  She was one of three Cardinals to post double-digit kills in the game with Jenna Franks (12) and Karlee Lois (10) rounding out the defensive effort. It was a big win for Wheeling to end their road schedule and has them ready to wrao up the regular season at home.

With their spot all but secured in the MEC Playoff tournament, Wheeling's focus turns to going into the playoffs on a hot streak. They wrap up the regular season against Alderson Broaddus and rival West Liberty at home. Both battled hard throughout the night in the first match-ups of the season, and will be sure to give Wheeling a run for their money again. The Cardinals look to bring the high-powered offense and continue to hit the ball well in front of their home fans.

The Match-up

The Cardinals and Battlers have played 22 times dating back to the 2002 season with the Cardinals winning all 22 of those games. In their first match-up of the year, Wheeking's defense came to play as they held the Battlers under the 20 point mark in all three sets. Wheeling hitters had a .362 hitting percentage in the game, and totaled 46 kills on 97 total attacks.

In that last game, it was freshman Riley Kindall and senior Kayla Bekier leading the way. Kindall finished the day with 12 kills while Bekier had 11 kills. Francis added 17 digs in the game while Lois finished with 38 assists in the win. Wheeling now gets a chance to face the Battlers on their home court, and are hoping to take advantage of that opportunity.

The Details

Tip-off for Tuesday's game is scheduled for 7 PM inside the Alma Grave McDonough Center. You can listen to the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.