Wheeling, W. Va. - After playing five straight games in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (20-6, 11-1) take a break as they head into non-conference play Friday. They take on Salem University for their second meeting of the season as they look to continue their success on the court. As they prepare for the final stretch of MEC play next week, the Cardinals look to continue their strong play away from the Alma Grace McDonough Center.
Last time out, the Cardinals wrapped up a three-game home stand when they took on Frostburg State on a Halloween night matchup. It was a night of runs for the Cardinals as they built up early leads in all three sets on the night and were able to use that as momentum to capture the 3-0 sweep over the Bobcats. The Cardinals had a lead of at least 7-3 or better in all three sets and did not allow the Bobcats to his the 20-point mark in any of those three sets. The final set saw them get out to their biggest lead of the day at 12-2 and they were able to ride it to a 25-14 lead to complete the 3-0 sweep. The combination of offensive prowess and defensive skill have led the Cardinals this season as they continue preparing for the MEC Tournament.
Leading the way for the Cardinals has been junior Mady Winters, who continued her streak of 13 straight matches with a hitting percentage of .300 or greater. She finished the night with 11 kills and a .588 hitting percentage bringing her hitting streak during the 13-game streak to .469. She currently leads the Cardinals with a .376 hitting percentage this season, while sitting sixth in kills (231) and fifth in total attacks (487). She is on pace to write her name in the record books, sitting with the 14th highest hitting percentage in a single season in program history. She looks to continue her impressive attack streak down the stretch.
The team's leading attacker on the day was senior Tylah Yeomans, who finished with 13 kills on the night to go along with a .243 hitting percentage on the night. While Winters leads the MEC in hitting percentage, it is Yeomans who takes the crown in kills with 333. She has had double digit kills in each of her last six matches, and has recorded 13 or more kills in three of those six matches. On the defensive side, it was Melia Gorrell who led the way as libero, finishing with a season-high 18 digs on the night. IT was a new season-high for the sophomore but falls four shy of her career-high of 22 that she set last season. Gorrell has taken over as the team's everyday libero since conference play kicked back up and has been leading the defensive effort ever since.
With just three games left on the schedule, the Cardinals are looking to continue their winning ways on the court heading into the MEC Tournament. With two of those games coming in MEC play, the Cardinals need just one more win to clinch the top spot in the MEC North Division. Either a Cardinal win on Monday against West Liberty or a Hilltoppers loss on Friday against Fairmont State would clinch the Cardinals the top spot in the MEC North Division. As they head into Friday's non-conference action, the Cardinals look to keep building their momentum towards the MEC Tournament run.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Tigers are meeting up for the 18th time in program history, and the second time during the 2023 season. During the series, this is just the sixth meeting between the two teams in Salem, West Virginia, with Wheeling leading that all-time series with a record of 5-0. In the 17 previous meetings, the Tigers have only taken two sets as the Cardinals look to continue their winning ways against the Tigers.
In their first meeting of the season, the Cardinals picked up a 3-0 win inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. The Cardinals were led on the day by junior Lindsey James, who set a new career-high with eight kills and a .571 hitting percentage. Freshman Chaney Brodbeck added six kills on the night while Riley Kindall rouned out the offense with five kills. On the defensive side, junior Chylyn Pate led the way with 14 digs while Abbey Queen added 11 of her own in the win.
The Details
Tip-off for Friday night's match is scheduled for 7 PM inside the T. Edward Davis Gymnasium on the campus of Salem University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
