Wheeling, W. Va. – Entering Tuesday night's match, graduate setter Karly Niesen needed just three assists to break the Wheeling Volleyball career assist record. It took just nine points for her to accomplish the feat, and she extended it above and beyond, finishing with 38 assists on the day. Her teammates capped off the accomplishment with a sweep of Salem in non-conference action to improve to 22-9 overall.
After tying the all-time record just four points into the match, it took a little longer for her to break the record. A Salem service error would give the Cardinals the ball back with the score sitting at 5-3 and the Cardinals went back on offense. Niesen would set the ball for Mady Winters, who finished with the kill, giving Niesen the all-time career assist record. The bench would erupt in cheers and after the first timeout, it was announced to the Alma Grace McDonough Center crowd that history had been made. Niesen would finish the day with 38 assists while leading the team to a .297 hitting percentage on the day. She also added a kill and 10 digs to round out her historic night with a double-double as she played her final regular season home match inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center.
It was a big day for the Cardinals as they got the opportunity to get all 23 players into the match throughout the night, with 11 of those players recording at least one kill. Cami Black would lead the way with 11 kills on the day and Riley Kindall added 10 kills of her own in the effort. Black was also the Cardinal's most efficient hitter on the day, putting together a .611 hitting percentage on the day. On the defensive side of the ball, the Cardinals had 16 different players register a dig as the back line defense held Salem to a .034 hitting percentage. Chylyn Pate would lead the way with 11 digs, while Niesen was the other Cardinal to hit double digit digs with 10.
After Niesen hit the career assist mark in the first set, the Cardinals offense got rolling as the score sat at 9-6 in favor of the Cardinals They would go on a 5-1 run that made it a 14-7 Cardinal advantage, with Samantha Comer and Katie Wilking each picking up kills on the day. Olivia Batch would get her first kill of the night on the next Cardinal run and late in the set Wheeling was set to a 19-11 lead. Mady Winters would knock down her second kill of the day, to set the team on a 5-0 run to set up set point at 24-11. Salem would keep things going with a kill from Tahnee Gerard, but a service error would bring the first set to an end. The Cardinals would pick up a 25-12 set one win and took a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set of the day would see the Cardinals go on their biggest run of the day after Salem took a 2-1 lead. The Cardinals would score 13 unanswered points to take a 14-2 lead and they began to go to their bench. Kindall would knock down six kills during the 13-point run and put together a big set that saw her knock down eight of her 10 kills in the set. Bella DeBarr and Cassidey Wiley each knocked down a pair of skills during the final run and set up set point at 24-7. Salem would get back on the board after a Cardinal attack error and Cami Black would knock down the final kill and the Cardinals went up 2-0 with a 25-8 win.
Black would build off the momentum of the final swing, knocking down the first three Cardinal kills of the third set. Lainey Simmons would get in on the action and the Cardinals took a 6-3 lead. Black would keep on swinging throughout the set, knocking down nine kills during the set as the Cardinals depth shined through the final set of play. Aly Finch, Emma Manser, and Aly Finch each picked up kills on the set as the Cardinals built a 23-16 lead. On the back line, Avery Henschen and Faith Keifer led the back line effort in the set, with Henschen picking up eight digs. A service error would set up match point for the Cardinals before Black brought her big set to an end. She knocked down the final kill and the Cardinals would pick up a 25-16 win.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Friday, November 15th, when they take on West Liberty at 7 PM.
