Frostburg, MD. - With two more weeks left in the regular season, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (19-9, 10-2) continued their four-game road trip looking for a bounce back in Frostburg, Maryland. The Cardinals offense had another strong night, hitting .320 as a team as they earned a 3-0 sweep over Frostburg State. The win got the Cardinals back on track as they continue to battle for the top spot in the MEC North Division.
Frostburg State would start the night strong in set one, knocking down the first three points of the night, including a pair of service aces. An attack error would get the ball back in the Cardinal's court and they would go off on an 8-4 run. Frostburg State would keep it to within a four-point game through a majority of the set, until it sat at 18-14 Wheeling late in the set. Riley Kindall would follow by knocking down a kill, and the Cardinals scored five straight to make it a 23-14 set. Kindall had two kills in the set and Olivia Batch added two kills of her own during the run. Frostburg State's Maya Johnson would knock down a kill to break the run, but Aly Finch would end the set with a pair of kills and the Cardinals would pick up a 25-15 win, and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set would be the Cardinal's hottest start of the night as Batch got things going with a kill. It would set off a 9-2 Cardinal run over the first 11 points, with Kindall picking up two kills while five different Cardinals would pick up kills in the early going. Frostburg State would continue to try and battle back throughout the set, but the early lead was enough to allow the Cardinals to hold them off. The Bobcats would get as close as 17-12, before Cami Black would knock down a kill to send the Cardinals on the run that clinched the set. Wheeling would score five of the next six points, pushing the lead to 22-13. The Cardinals set up set point on a service error, and it would be service errors that ended the set. The teams traded service errors over the final three points of the set, with Wheeling winning the set 25-17 and taking a 2-0 lead.
The third set of the night would be the most competitive as Frostburg State tried to stay alive. They scored three of the first four points of the night and the Cardinals would battle back to tie things at 4-4. The two teams would go back and forth throughout the set, with the lead changing hands six times through the middle of the set. The Cardinals would hold a 16-15 advantage before Riley Kindall smacked down a kill. It would put the Cardinals on a 5-1 run that made it a 21-16 set. As they had all set, Frostburg State continued to battle back and made it 21-19 before the Cardinals set up set point at 24-20. Frostburg State's Amanda Knieper would keep them alive and a service ace would make it a 24-22 set. However, it would be Finch that ended the day with a kill and Wheeling took the set 25-22 and won the match 3-0.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was senior Riley Kindall, who finished just shy of a double-double. She paced the Cardinal's offensive effort, finishing with 11 kills and a strong .393 hitting percentage while finishing with six digs. She was the only one to reach double digit digs for the Cardinals on the night, while Katie Wilking was the team's most efficient hitter, finishing with a .429 hitting percentage on 14 total attacks. Karly Niesen finished with 38 assists on the day and is now just 80 assists away from the all-time assist record of 5.920. On the defensive side, the Cardinals had a pair of double digit diggers, with Chylyn Pate and Olivia Batch each finishing with 10 digs.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Friday, November 8th, when they travel to Point Park with tip-off at 7 PM.
