Wheeling, W. Va. - Earlier this season, the annual "Battle for Wheeling" kicked off when the Men's and Women's Soccer teams hosted West Liberty. The rivalry now comes to the Alma Grace McDonough Center for the first time this season when the Wheeling University Volleyball team (11-6, 4-0) hosts West Liberty Tuesday at 7 PM. The Cardinals are coming off a hard-fought battle with Notre Dame College last time out and look to continue their roll in conference play as the calendar changes over to October.
In that most recent conference match, the Cardinals ended up taking down the Falcons 3-1, coming back to win the final three sets of the day. After dropping the first set of the day 25-22, the offense came back strong in each of the final three sets. In each of those three sets, it was a big run by the Cardinal's offense that set them apart and gave them the victory. In set four, the two teams battled back and forth until the final points of the match. Wheeling would then go on a short 4-1 run that made it a 23-16 game and the Cardinals were able to take the set 25-19 to win the match 3-1. It was the second set of the season that Wheeling lost in conference play, but they were able to keep their unbeaten conference record alive.
Leading the way with a strong weekend for Wheeling was outside hitter Tylah Yeomans, who finished the weekend with 34 kills over the two matches this weekend. She has been a force for the Cardinals on the front line throughout the season, leading the way with 240 kills this season. Last year, the junior had just 70 kills all season and has gone out and more than tripled that in the first month of the year. The other Cardinal leading the way as of late is Allonda Watkins, who led the way with 17 kills against Malone and added 11 against Notre Dame College. The duo has provided a strong presence on the outside of the bet for Wheeling and look to continue that success.
However, the hitters are nothing without a good setter, and junior Karly Niesen has continued to be that strong presence for the Cardinals offense. Niesen had 51 assists in each of the two weekend games, while adding one kill in each contest. She has also been heavily involved in the team's defensive game and was among the team leaders against Notre Dame College with 14 digs. She currently leads the Mountain East Conference (MEC) with 710 assists and an average of 11.48 assists/set through her 17 matches played. She led NCAA Division II in assists per set last season and currently ranks fourth in assists/set in Division II this season.
As the Cardinals come down the stretch in October, they will focus heavily on their conference schedule throughout the month, with just one more non-conference match ahead of them. They remain one of just three unbeaten teams in the conference and the only unbeaten team out of the North Division. After they host West Liberty tomorrow, the Cardinals will get their first look at the MEC South Division over the next week, including a rematch of the 2021 MEC Championship on October 14th against West Virginia State. The Cardinals look to continue their one game at a time mentality as they head towards the MEC Tournament in November.
The Matchup
The long-standing rivalry between the Hilltoppers and Cardinals enters its 41st meeting on Tuesday, with the Cardinals leading the all-time series at 39-1. That one loss in the series came back during the 2020 COVID-year, but Wheeling has bounced back with wins in each of their last four meetings with the Hilltoppers. In their most recent meetings, the teams competed in the 2021 MEC Tournament when the Cardinals won 3-1 to advance to the MEC Championship match.
Leading the way in that match was Lexi Reinert and former Cardinal Kayla Bekier, who had 15 and 14 kills respectively on the day. She was followed by Lexi Smith and Mady Winters, who each had 12 kills on the day to round out the offense. Riley Kindall had the best showing on the defensive side of the ball, picking up 30 digs in the win.
The Details
Tip-off for Tuesday night's match is scheduled for 7 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.
