WHEELING, W.Va. (Feb. 9) – The No. 25 Wheeling University volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 sweep of Alderson Broaddus in its season-opener Tuesday inside the McDonough Center.
 
THE RUNDOWN

• Final Score: No. 25 Wheeling 3, Alderson Broaddus 0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-11)
• Records: Wheeling (1-0) | Alderson Broaddus (0-2)
• Location: McDonough Center – Wheeling, West Virginia

TEAM LEADERS

• Junior Allonda Watkins (Beachwood, Ohio/Beachwood) recorded 12 kills and seven blocks (two solo) in the win.
• Watkins posted a .409 hitting percentage on the evening.
• Freshman setter Karly Niesen (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon) dished out 28 assists in her Cardinal debut.
• Senior Audrey Francis (Sidney, Ohio/Fairlawn) paced the defense with 14 digs.
• Junior Lexi Reinert (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) finished with seven kills on 14 attacks (.429 hitting percentage) with one error in her debut as a Cardinal.
• Junior Kayla Bekier (Northwood, Ohio/Lake) had a strong debut as well with six kills on 10 attacks (.500 hitting percentage) with one error.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Wheeling established big leads early in all three sets to help claim the three-set win.
• The Cardinals limited the Battlers to hitting percentages of .034, .132 and negative-.200 in the three sets.
• Meanwhile, Wheeling posted hitting percentages of .462, .382, and .278 on offense.
• The Cardinals posted seven service aces, which matches the team's season-high from the 2019 season. 
• Wheeling was ranked No. 25 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 poll.

 UP NEXT

• The Cardinals will host Notre Dame (Ohio) inside the McDonough Center on Friday, February 12 at 7 p.m.
• No spectators are permitted inside the facility, but fans can watch a live stream of the match on The Mountain East Digital Network OTT app (Roku, AppleTV, Android, and Amazon Fire TV) or by visiting MountainEast.tv/wheeling.