Wheeling, W. Va. – Day two of the 2023 Atlantic Regional Crossover raged on inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center on Saturday. The Wheeling University Volleyball team (6-4, 0-0) was back in action and looked to finish the clean sweep of the tournament as they looked to be the only 4-0 team at the tournament. The Cardinals did just that as they put together a pair of sweeps as they took down Slippery Rock and Clarion by identical 3-0 scores.

Match 1: Wheeling 3, Slippery Rock 0

The Cardinals opened up day two of the tournament against Slippery Rock in the first of two meetings this season. The Cardinals took the lead early, scoring four of the first six points to take a 4-2 lead. Tylah Yeomans and Josie Schroeder each had kills on the run. However, Slippery Rock would answer scoring seven of the next nine points and took back the lead at 9-6. A short 3-0 Cardinal run was enough to tie the set, with Riley Kindall picking up two of those kills. The Rock re-took the lead at 12-11, before another 4-0 run put Wheeling ahead 15-12 in the middle of the set. The back and forth would continue as Slippery Rock tied it at 17-17 before a final 5-0 Cardinal run would secure the victory. Riley Kindall would slam down the final kill and Wheeling picked up a 25-20 set one win gave the Cardinals a 1-0 win.

The second set continued the back and forth nature of the first set as the team's were tied up at 5-5. Cassidey Wiley would knock down a kill to get the Cardinals back on track, and they went on to score eight of the next 10 points and built their lead to 13-7 through the middle portion of the set. Aly Finch would know down two kills on the run and the Cardinals would continue to swing as they built a 16-10 lead as the set moved on. For the second time in the tournament, the Cardinals would hit over .400 in a set, swinging at a .406 percentage in the second set. The run that clinched it would be a 5-0 run that gave Wheeling a 10-point lead at 22-12. An attack error by Slippery Rock would score the 25th point for Wheeling and they were up 2-0 heading into the final set.

Slippery Rock would get on the board first in that third set, but Riley Kindall would knock down a kill that tied things at 1-1. Chylyn Pate would then come in to serve for the Cardinals and led her team on a 5-0 run to put Wheeling up 8-4 in the set. Slippery Rock battled back to make it 8-8, and another 4-0 Cardinal run had them up 12-8. After back-to-back points from Slippery Rock, Wiley was at it again, knocking down a kill that sent her team on another 4-0 run as the Cardinals took a lead 16-10. Wheeling continued to hold their lead at 21-17, before putting the game away with a 4-0 run to secure the 25-17 victory. Riley Kindall would knock down the final kill as Wheeling would pick up their second sweep of the weekend as they defeated Slippery Rock 3-0.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Riley Kindall who led the team with 14 kills on the day. She set a new career-high with a .464 hitting percentage in the match as she continue to excel in both sides of the ball. Tylah Yeomans finished right behind her finishing with 12 kills and a team-best .484 hitting percentage. Karly Niesen helped the offense flow with 42 assists as she continues to climb towards the 4,000 career kill mark. Niesen was also big on the defensive side for the Cardinals, finishing tied with teammate Melia Gorrell for the team high with 10 digs. As they entered their final match, the Cardinals looked to not only sweep the tournament but get revenge from last year's regional tournament as they took on Clarion University.

Match 2: Wheeling 3, Clarion 0

The second match of the day would be a rematch of the 2022 NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Semifinal match as the Cardinals took on Clarion. Early on, the Golden Eagles would take control in set one, scoring six of the first seven points to take a 6-1 lead. Mady Winters would knock down a kill to get the Cardinals back on track and they battled back to make it a 9-8 game. Clarion maintained their lead to the middle portion of the set, at 15-12 before the Cardinals got going again. They battled back to make it 17-17 on a kill by Tylah Yeomans before going on a 6-1 run to take their first lead of the match at 23-20. After a Golden Eagle point, a service error gave Wheeling the ball back before Katie Wilking slammed down the kill and gave Wheeling the 25-23 win. They headed into set two looking to keep the success going and put Clarion on the ropes.

Like they did in the first set, the Golden Eagles once again took the lead in set two, going ahead 4-2 over the first six points. Riley Kindall would hit a kill to get the Cardinals back on track and a short 3-0 run would give Wheeling their first lead of the set at 5-4. Clarion would once again get going, taking back the lead and pushing it to 12-8 in the early portions of the set. That is when Wheeling put together their biggest run of the season so far, going on a 14-2 fun that turned a 12-8 Golden Eagles lead to a 22-14 Cardinal advantage in the late going. Riley Kindall picked up three more kills during the run as she continues her strong offensive day. With the lead well in hand, a Kindall kill and a Clarion attack error gave Wheeling the 25-17 set win and gave the Cardinals a chance for their second sweep of the day.

The third set would be the most competitive set of the day as the Cardinals were looking for a sweep while Clarion was trying to stay alive. Late in the set, the two teams were tied at 21-21 after a Riley Kindall kill evened things up. Kindall would add three more kills over the next four points as Wheeling went on a 4-0 run that made it a 24-21 advantage. The Cardinals sat on set point for the next three points as Clarion came back and tied things at 24-24, forcing the win-by-two scenario. Riley Kindall started the scenario with a kill and set up another set point opportunity for the Cardinals. Kindall would go back to serve and it would be Tylah Yeomans who knocked down the kill and Wheeling walked away with a sweep of the Golden Eagles and a 26-24 set win in the final set.

It was once again Riley Kindall who led the way for the Cardinals on offense, setting a new career-high with 23 kills to pace the Cardinals. She hit .340 in the second match of the day and has established herself as a nice compliment to Tylah Yeomans. Yeomans was right behind her, finishing with 14 kills and once again hit over .400, leading the way with a .481 hitting percentage to round out her day. Karly Niesen had another 40 assist effort as the Cardinals offense hit .316 under her leadership. Giana Mutersbaugh led the way with 12 digs and Abbey Queen finished right behind her with 10 digs. It was a big bounce back for the Cardinals from last year's semifinal match and gives them confidence moving forward.

The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Friday, September 22nd when they hit the road to face West Virginia State at 6 PM.