Wheeling, W. Va. - Day two of the University of Indianapolis Invitational kicked off with a bang for the Wheeling Volleyball team (3-4, 0-0) when they faced #21 University of West Florida in their opener. It was a re-match of their first game of the season, but unfortunately, it ended with Wheeling being swept 3-0.
After picking up their first sweep of the year the night before, Wheeling was looking to build off of that momentum on day two. However, right from the start, things weren't going well for Wheeling. They totaled nine kills on 29 total attacks in the first set, but unfortunately also committee eight attack errors in the set. It led to a hitting percentage of just .034 and in the end, it led to a 25-13 first set loss. Wheeling was down 1-0 for the sixth time this season and were looking to rally and get back in the match.
Early in the second set, it was back and forth between the two teams as West Florida had the early 5-4 advantage. Each team was looking for an advantage, and it was the Agronauts that would find it going on an 8-1 run to bring the score to 13-5. It was a deficit that Wheeling could not bounce back from, and they ended up dropping the second set 25-16 and fell behind 2-0 for the match. Wheeling was looking for their big break but wasn't able to find it and was now on the ropes and looking to stay alive in the match.
The third set was the closest of the three sets on the day, as Wheeling battled back from an early deficit. West Florida jumped out to a 9-3 lead, and midway through it looked like they would take it with ease leading 17-8. However, Wheeling would not go down without a fight, Wheeling would put up five of the final six points in the set to get as close as 24-19, but it would be West Florida who finished off the set 25-19 to pick up the 3-0 win.
Freshman Riley Kindall (Westerville, OH, Westerville Catholic HS) continued her strong run at the tournament leading the way with nine kills on 21 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .333. Three other Cardinals finished the day with five kills each as the team finished with 33 kills on the day. Karly Niesen (Cincinnati, OH./ Roger Bacon) led the way with 23 assists and Audrey Francis (Sidney, OH./Fairlawn) led the defense with six digs.
The Wheeling University Women's Volleyball team wraps up the University of Indianapolis Invitational this afternoon at 2 PM when that face Ashland University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with live stats by clicking HERE.
