Wheeling, W. Va. – During their first week of Mountain East Conference (MEC) play, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (7-5, 1-1) had to hit the road with a pair of tough matches. They get set to return home on Friday night as they play the first of a split weekend of non-conference play as they look to get hot. The weekend begins with a home match against Salem University on Friday night, before the team hits the road on Saturday to take on IUP in the weekend capper.

Last time out, the Cardinals continued their MEC schedule when they took on Fairmont State on Tuesday. After dropping the first set in a win-by-two scenario, the Cardinals came charging back as their offense, led by Tylah Yeomans and Mady Winters, found their stride. The Cardinals built an early 6+3 lead in set two, and never looked back going on three separate runs to pick up a 25-15 set win and even the match at 1-1. Set three had a similar mantra, with the Cardinals once again building an early lead and using that to win 25-19 and lead the match 2-1. However, Fairmont State would not go down without a fight, winning the fourth set 25-23 to force the fifth and final set. Wheeling came out on top in the end, getting a 15-10 win as they earned their first MEC win of the season.

Leading the way on the defensive end of the ball was junior Berit Jones, who set a new career-high with 36 digs in the five-set victory. Jones did not start the game as libero but would sub in and handled the role for the Cardinals. She finished just seven digs shy of the single-match record, held by former Cardinal and current Graduate Assistant Audrey Emerich. The Cardinals have had several girls step up as Libero during the season, with Jones, Melia Gorrell, Abbey Queen, and Giana Mutersbaugh all seeing time at the position. Jones had the most digs in a match for the Cardinals this season and with the effort she pulled herself into third on the team with 117 digs. She looks to continue to be a driving force for the Cardinal's backline as they move through the season.

On the offensive side, the Cardinals got another big effort from Karly Niesen, who finished with 60 assists and helped lead Wheeling to a .268 hitting percentage on the night. Niesen is chasing down a career milestone, needing just 43 more assists to become the third player in program history to reach the 4,000-career assist mark and looks to accomplish that goal this weekend. She had a variety of Cardinals to set to, with three different Cardinals finishing in double digit kills. Tylah Yeomans set a new career-high with 22 kills, while Riley Kindall and Mady Winters each finished with 15 kills. The Cardinals have several weapons across the course and look to continue distributing the ball effectively.

After opening their MEC schedule over the last two games, the Cardinals will take a short break from conference play over the weekend as they battle Salem and IUP. The first of the two matches are part of the MEC's non-conference agreement with Salem University, where the Tigers will replace all games originally scheduled against Alderson Broaddus. It will be a chance for the Cardinals to get in front of their home fans for the fifth time this season, after being on the road for most of September. They then go back on the road to close out the month against an IUP team that they faced in last season's NCAA DII Quarterfinal matchup.

The Matchups

Salem: The Cardinals and Tigers will be meeting for the 17th time in program history, with Wheeling leading the all-time series with a record of 16-0. However, the two teams are meeting for the first time in 15 seasons, with the last meeting coming on September 25th, 2008. Both teams were members of the former West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) at the time, with the Cardinals holding a 7-0 record against the Tigers inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. In the most recent meeting, the Cardinals beat Salem 3-0 in Salem, West Virginia.

IUP: The Cardinals and Crimson Hawks are meeting for the 18th time in program history, with Wheeling leading the all-time series with a record of 15-2. However, both losses have come at home, with the Cardinals holding a perfect 4-0 record when they travel to Indiana, Pennsylvania. It will be a rematch of the 2022 NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Quarterfinal match, where the Cardinals would pick up a 3-0 win over IUP. Leading the way for the Cardinals was former Cardinal Allonda Watkins, who finished with 18 kills, while Melia Gorrell led the way with 11 digs.

The Details