Wheeling, W. Va. - In the first two weeks of the season, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (2-5, 0-0) headed down to sunny Florida to face some of the top teams in NCAA Division II Volleyball. For the first time in 2022, the team will be back home at Bishop Schmitt Field as they get set to host the Wheeling Invitational on September 9th and September 10th inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. The tournament will feature four different opponents from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) as the Cardinals get their first look at some of the competition they will face in the Atlantic Region.

Over their first seven games of the season, the Cardinals have been tested playing four ranked opponents during that stretch. At the University of Tampa tournament, the Cardinals went 1-2 in their three games to move to 2-5 on the season. Their lone win of the tournament came against Tusculum when they picked up a 3-1 win to even their record at the tournament. They started things off with a 3-0 loss against #24 Colorado Mesa and finished the tournament by taking a set in their 3-1 loss to #1 Tampa. The Cardinals once again had some big individual performances as they continue to prepare for the start of Mountain East Conference (MEC) play.

Leading the way on offense this past weekend was sophomore Mady Winters, who broke out with her best showings of the season so far. She finished the three-game stretch with 29 kills on 62 total attacks and had a hitting percentage of .387. Her best performance came in the team's lone win against Tusculum, where she had a season-high 16 kills and an impressive .538 hitting percentage in the team's 3-1 win. The reigning MEC Freshman of the Year looks to once again be the leader for this Cardinals offense as she enters her sophomore campaign.

On the defensive side of the ball, Berit Jones found a home on Wheeling's backline and was the team's dig leader in two of the three games. She finished the weekend with 44 digs and just three receiving errors throughout the weekend. She eclipsed the 20-dig mark for the second time this season when she had 23 digs against Tusculum and followed that up with a 14-dig effort against Colorado Mesa. Karly Niesen also continued her successful start to the season, finishing with 95 assists across the three games. She also had a career offensive night when she registered six kills against #24 Colorado Mesa on Friday.

The Cardinals will now get their first look at a regional opponent this year after being the Atlantic Regions #1 seed and host site for the Regional Championships a year ago. Last season, the Cardinals swept the Wheeling Invitational with four wins over the weekend that moved their record from 4-4 to 8-4 as they headed into their MEC schedule. The Cardinals are in a comparable situation this year as they look to improve upon their 2-5 record over the four-game stretch. They look to start regional play out strong as they try to get back to that #1 spot in the Atlantic Region.

The Matchups