Wheeling, W. Va. - The Mountain East Conference (MEC) schedule opened for the Wheeling University Volleyball team (6-5, 0-1) on Friday when they dropped their conference opener to West Virginia State. The team will have a chance to get back on track on Tuesday when they hit the road once again for a trip to Fairmont State with tip-off at 7 PM. The Cardinals look to get back in the win column as they begin a stretch of four straight conference matches that come against MEC North opponents, with a few non-conference contests mixed in along the way.
The MEC schedule officially kicked off for the Cardinals on Friday when they made the trip down to Insitute, West Virginia to take on West Virginia State. It was a slow start for the Cardinals in the first set, as they fell behind 20-12 and never recovered to dop that opening set 25-18. They battled for the rest of the evening, but just couldn't find that 25th point to send them over the top as they were swept by the Yellow Jackets 3-0. As a team, the Cardinals hit .133 on the afternoon, knocking down 31 kills on 120 total attacks, and 15 attack errors to round out the day. It was also the team's first in-region loss of the season as they continue to chase down a spot not only in the MEC Tournament, but another spot in the 2023 NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Tournament.
Leading the way for the Cardinal's offense was junior Riley Kindall as she continues her strong junior season as an outside hitter. She finished the night with 10 kills on 35 total attacks for a .171 hitting percentage, while also contributing eight digs to the effort. For Kindall, it was her eighth double digit kill effort of the season in 11 matches and she enters Tuesday night's match averaging 3.43 kills/set. She sits second on the team in both kills (144) and kills/set and has been a big part of the team's rotation. To go along with her success on offense, Kindall has also played a big part in the team's defensive effort, leading the way with 145 digs, and sitting second on the team with 3.86 digs/set. Kindall has been a key piece to the Cardinal's success this season and looks to continue to build herself on the court.
The Cardinals also got another big effort from Karly Niesen, who is chasing down history over the next few matches. She led the way with both 26 assists and 14 digs in the loss to West Virginia State and entering play Tuesday she sits just 103 assists from 4,000 for her career. She would become the third player in Wheeling Volleyball to hit the mark, joining an exclusive club that includes Andrea Thobe and Stephanie Sylvester. Niesen is averaging 11.31 assists per set so far this season, and keeping pace with her average would set her up to possibly reach the milestone against either Salem on Friday or possibly IUP on Saturday. Sophomore Melia Gorrell and freshman Giana Mutersbaugh each added to the backline effort for the Cardinals, finishing with nine and eight digs, respectively.
After losing their conference opener for the first time since joining the MEC back in 2013, the Cardinals will be looking to rebound, but will have to do so on the road. Three of their next four matches come on the road, including two big MEC North contests against Fairmont State Tuesday and Frostburg State on October 3rd. It will be the longest road stretch of the year for the team as during October they will be home for eight of their 12 matches. With the Cardinals eyeing another trip to both the MEC Championship match as well as the NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Tournament, they will be looking to run the table and get back to postseason play.
The History
The Cardinals and Falcons are meeting for the 57th time in program history, with Wheeling leading the all-time series with a record of 44-12. When the team's meet in Fairmont, West Virginia, the Cardinals own a 17-1 record against the Falcons, with their only loss coming during the 2020 COVID-shortened season. The Cardinals are 9-1 in their last 10 matches against the Falcons and look to continue their success as they hit the road.
In their last meeting on October 18th of last year, Wheeling picked up a big home win late in the season 3-0 over the Falcons. Former Cardinal Allonda Watkins led the way in that match with 14 kills while Tylah Yeomans and Riley Kindall added 12 and eight kills, respectively. Chylyn Pate would end up leading the defensive effort, finishing with 16 digs on the evening.
The Details
Tip-off for Tuesday night's match is scheduled for 7 PM inside the Feaster Center (Joe Retton Arena, Dan Cava Court) on the campus of Fairmont State University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
