Wheeling, W. Va. – After a brief reprieve from Mountain East Conference (MEC) play on Friday night, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (21-6, 11-1) returns to MEC play for a Monday night showdown. They hit the road to South Euclid, Ohio as they take on Notre Dame College on Monday with tip-off scheduled for 7 PM. Due to Civic Duty day on Tuesday due to the election, the match is being played on Monday instead of the normal Tuesday night matchup.

Last time out, the Cardinals made the trip to Salem, West Virginia as they wrapped up their non-conference season series with Salem University. Like their first meeting of the season, the Cardinals were able to dip into their depth in the match as they scored a 3-0 win over the Tigers. The Cardinals saw a different attacker step up in each of the three sets as they once again did not allow their opponent to reach the 20-point mark. In the first set, Wheeling walked away with a 25-15 win, and followed it up with wins of 25-17 and 25-14 in each of the final two sets. The Cardinals eclipsed the .300 hitting percentage mark for the seventh time this season as they finished at .310 in their 3-0 win over the Tigers.

By dipping into that depth, the Cardinals were able to give some of their regulars a much-needed rest before they enter the final week of conference play. Leading the way for the Cardinals was sophomore Cassidey Wiley, who set a new career-high with 14 kills. She posted the second-highest hitting percentage on the day at .346 as she had a breakout match in the middle. The other big performance also came from a front line attacker as Lindsey James hit double digit kills for the first time in her collegiate career. The junior finished with 10 kills on the day as she had a .333 hitting percentage in the win. In total, nine different Cardinals recorded at least one kill in the match as the team was able to spread the ball out throughout the night.

Tylah Yeomans finished with just one kill in the Friday night match, but she has been a leader for not only the Cardinals, but the MEC as well. She currently leads the MEC with 334 kills on the season while averaging 3.84 kills/set. Yeomans is hitting a healthy .311 this season and looks to continue to lead the Cardinals down the stretch. The other conference leader for the Cardinals is Junior Mady Winters, who leads the conference in hitting percentage. She is hitting an impressive .376 this season and leads the MEC by 34 points. Both Yeomans and Winters have led the Cardinal's offense throughout the season and look for continued success down the stretch.

With a win on Monday night, the Cardinals can clinch the MEC North Division Championship. The Cardinals enter play at 11-1 in MEC play, holding a two-match lead over West Liberty. Either a Cardinal win or a Hilltopper loss to Frostburg State would clinch the Cardinals the division title. Wheeling also continues preparing for the 2023 MEC Tournament, where they are still in the mix to be hosts, but need some help from West Virginia State. The Cardinals split their final two matches between home and road over the final week, but have had home court advantage recently, with four of their final six matches being played inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center.

The Matchup

The Cardinals and Falcons are meeting for the 23rd time in program history on Monday, and the second time during the 2023 season. The Cardinals have won each of the first 22 matches between the two teams, including an 11-0 record in South Euclid, Ohio. The Cardinals have earned sweeps in two of the last three matches between the two teams, and look to continue that trend as they look for the season series sweep.

In their first meeting of the season, the Cardinals earned a 3-0 win against Notre Dame College at home back on October 6th. Leading the way for the Cardinals was Riley Kindall, who knocked down 11 kills, while Mady Winters added 10 kills in the match. The Cardinals had three players with double digit digs in the match as Melia Gorrell (12), Karly Niesen (10), and Berit Jones (10) all finished in double digits.

The Details

Tip-off for Monday night's matchup is scheduled for 7 PM inside the Murphy Gymnasium on the campus of Notre Dame College. You can watch the match live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.