Wheeling, W. Va. - Last week, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (8-6, 2-0) started Mountain East Conference (MEC) play with two big wins over Fairmont State and Frostburg State. They continue their home cooking to start off week two when they host Alderson Broaddus on Tuesday, with tip-off scheduled for 7 PM. The Cardinals got an all-around strong contribution from their offense last week and look to continue playing together as the season goes on.
In their last match, the Cardinals picked up their first sweep of conference play when they beat Frostburg State on their home floor 3-0. The Cardinals started out the day strong with a 25-10 and followed it up with a 25-9 win in the second set to take a 2-0 lead. Wheeling's hitters were efficient in both of those sets, putting up a match-best .533 hitting percentage in set one and following it up with a .409 hitting percentage in set two. However, set three saw Frostburg State take an early lead and Wheeling was forced to battle back. The Cardinals were able to do just that, sealing the set with a 10-1 run, and went on to win 25-17 to win the match and move to 2-0 in MEC play.
It was a group effort on the Cardinals front line, but leading the way was sophomore Mady Winters, who finished with 10 kills on 12 total attacks and a .667 hitting percentage. Winters has turned it on since the start of MEC play, recording double digit kills in both matches, including a 21 kill effort in the four-set win against Fairmont State. Coming off the MEC's Freshman of the Year Award win in 2021, Winters is looking to build off her strong season in her sophomore campaign. She currently sits third on the team with 117 kills and boasts the team's second highest hitting percentage at .356.
Alongside Winters are a trio of Cardinals' hitters who are having strong seasons of their own in Allonda Watkins, Lexi Smith, and Tylah Yeomans. Yeomans was the team leader in kills against Frostburg State, finishing with 13 kills, and she leads the team with 197 kills this season. Watkins has been the Cardinals' most successful hitter so far with a team-best .369 hitting percentage through her first 14 matches of the year. Lexi Smith has added 65 kills and has been the team's fourth best blocker, with 32.0 on the season. The front line has done a good job of leading the Cardinals this season as they begin their path towards earning another MEC Tournament berth.
After the first week of conference play, the Cardinals are sitting as the only undefeated team in the MEC North Division, and one of three undefeated teams in the conference. With three more MEC North matches ahead of them before they crossover, the Cardinals look to keep playing together and showing consistency on the court. They don't play their first MEC South opponent until October 7th when they host Concord on Homecoming Weekend and they look to stay the course as they battle their division teams over the first two and a half weeks of the season.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Battlers will be meeting for the 24th time in program history on Tuesday night, with Wheeling leading the all-time series with 23 wins. The Cardinals have lost just one set at home during the all-time matchup and are looking to keep their streak alive. Last season, Wheeling would win both matches, picking up 3-0 wins in both instances, last season as they get set to welcome Alderson Broaddus in for the first time this season.
In their last meeting, former Cardinal Kayla Bekier and Riley Kindall led the offensive attack with 11 kills each and Lexi Smith led the way with an .833 hitting percentage. Defensively, former Cardinal Audrey Francis led the way with 14 digs in the match and Kindall and Winters led the way with three blocks each.
The Details
Tip-off for Tuesday night's match is scheduled for 7 PM inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. You can watch the match live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
