Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Volleyball team (8-4, 0-0) took advantage of being back on their home court, going 4-0 at the Atlantic Region Crossover in the Alma Grace McDonough Center. They look to keep their momentum going as they continue non-conference action on Tuesday when they host Ohio Dominican at 6 PM.
While going 4-0 over the weekend, Wheeling has won 12 consecutive sets and swept three of the four games they played. The only game they didn't sweep was against Clarion University, where they fell behind 2-0 early on but were able to battle back taking the last three sets for a 3-2 victory. Their best game came in the finale of the tournament when they took on Millersville University and earned a 3-0 sweep in which their hitters went to work against the Marauders.
Wheeling didn't allow less than 20 points in two of the three sets, winning by scores of 25-22, 25-13, and 25-14 to score the 3-0 victory. After freshman Riley Kindall (Westerville, OH./Westerville) led the team in kills for the first three matches of the tournament, fellow freshman Aly Finch's (Oregon, OH./St. Ursula Academy) turn to lead the charge with 10 kills on the day. Senior Audrey Francis (Sidney, OH./Fairlawn) led the defense with 24 digs and finished the tournament with 99 overall, and Sophomore Karly Niesen (Cincinnati, OH./Roger Bacon) led the way with 35 assists in the game.
For her efforts, Francis was honored as this week's MEC Volleyball Defensive Player of the week and was the first award winner for the Volleyball team. The four-time MEC Libero of the Year award winner is one of eight seniors on this year's squad as they try to lead Wheeling to their ninth straight MEC Championship in Fall 2021.
Wheeling has one more non-conference game before they jump into the heart of their MEC schedule next week. It is one more chance for the team to work on things before they face Fairmont State in the Alma Grace McDonough Center for the team's Mountain East Conference Opener.
The Match-Up
The Cardinals and Panthers have met up three times dating back to the 2009 season, and Wheeling has won all three of those match-ups. They were able to sweep two of those contests and won the first-ever meeting between the two teams in 2009 3-2. In total, Wheeling has won eight straight sets against the Panthers and is 1-0 against them inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center.
The last time the two teams met was on October 8th, 2019, in Columbus Ohio in a game that Wheeling won 3-0. They had a hot start in the game, taking the first set 25-16 before finishing off the Panthers with set wins of 25-21 and 25-21 to complete the sweep. Former Cardinal Haley Kramer led the offensive attack with 12 kills in the game while Francis paced the defense with 22 digs.
The Details
Tip-off for Tuesday's non-conference Volleyball action is scheduled for 6 PM inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
