Wheeling, W. Va. – As the preseason non-conference schedule rolls on, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (1-3, 0-0) are on a Rocky Mountain High as they travel to the Colorado Premiere Tournament on Friday and Saturday. It continues a grueling non-conference stretch for the team that will see them open the tournament with two opponents ranked in the top 15 in the country. The weekend begins on Friday when they take on #13 Chaminade at 4 PM followed by a meeting with #2 Wayne State College at 8 PM.
It is the second road preseason tournament for the Cardinals, who are coming off a trip to Pensacola, Florida for the University of West Florida Tournament. Two of the four teams that the Cardinals saw on the weekend were ranked in the top 20 in the nation as they finished 1-3 in those matches. They kicked things off against #20 University of West Florida, where they battled to a win-by-two-scenario in each of the first two sets as the match sat tied 1-1. However, West Florida would take the final two sets and took the match 3-1. They would take on Oklahoma Baptist in the nightcap and fell by a similar 3-1 score. They would get their first win on Saturday in their opener when they took down Spring Hill College 3-1 and entered their final match with a chance to split. However, they would take on #11 Southwest Minnesota State and fell 3-0 to round out the weekend 1-3.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was senior Mady Winters, who had a big weekend on both sides of the ball. She was the team's second-leading attacker during the weekend, finishing with 43 kills while posting a team-high.463 hitting percentage across the four matches. However, it was her work on defense that earned her recognition from the Mountain East Conference (MEC) as she was named the MEC's Defensive Player of the Week. She finished with 18.0 total blocks, seven solo and 11 block assists, on the weekend. Her biggest defensive game came against the University of West Florida, where she recorded seven total blocks. Three of those were solo blocks while she combined for four block assists as the Cardinals battled to a four-set loss. Winters finished second in the conference in blocks a season ago and looks to continue that success in 2024.
The other big performer for the Cardinals on the weekend was sophomore Katie Wilking, who had a career weekend leading the Cardinals. She led the way with 44 kills across the four matches while finishing with a .396 hitting percentage on the weekend. Her best match came in the Cardinal's lone win of the weekend when they defeated Spring Hill College 3-1. She posted a career-high 19 kills in the match while holding an impressive .679 hitting percentage on the day. She hit .400 or better in two of the four matches for her team as she continues to grow on the front line. Wheeling's Riley Kindall continued her work as a six-rotation player for the team, finishing with two double-doubles across the four matches. She was the Cardinal's leader in digs against Spring Hill with 22 and recorded her first double-double of the season against the University of West Florida.
As the Cardinals continue through their non-conference tournament schedule, the team will be taking on several ranked opponents for the second weekend in a row. Their first two matchups came against teams that are ranked top 15 in the nation as they battled #13 Chaminade and #2 Wayne State College. The tournament is set up in pool play structure with four different pools playing on day one. Day one's results will determine day two's matchups. Each of the Cardinal's first two matchups will be played at MSU Denver, with the team coming back to play at Regis on Saturday. They look to get some big wins on the first day of play to set them up for success in game two.
The Matchups
Chaminade: The Cardinals and SilverSwords are meeting for the second time in program history when they open the tournament on Friday. Chaminade leads the all-time series with a win, but this will be the team's first meeting since the 2006 season. In that meeting, the Cardinals would fall in a 3-0 sweep as they made the trip to Hawaii. The Cardinals are looking to bounce back in their second meeting as they open the Colorado Premiere Tournament.
Wayne State College: The Cardinals and Wildcats will be meeting for the second time in program history on Friday in game two of the tournament. Wheeling leads the all-time series with a 1-0 record as the teams meet up for the first time in 21 seasons. Their first meeting came in a neutral site matchup in Allendale, Michigan, where the Cardinals walked away 3-1 winners. The Cardinals look to make it two in a row as they continue the all-time series.
The Details
Tip-off for Friday's opener is scheduled for 4 PM inside the Auraria Event Center on the campus of MSU Denver. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
