Wheeling, W. Va. – After winning matches on the first two days of Atlantic Region Crossover at Wheeling University, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (7-6, 0-0) was back in action with a pair of matches Saturday. They opened the day with a 3-0 win over Slippery Rock in the morning and closed out the tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Clarion. It capped off a 4-0 weekend for the team and saw senior Riley Kindall join the 1,000 career kill club.

Game One: Wheeling 3, Slippery Rock 0

The first match of the day for the Cardinals kicked off day two of action as the team took on Slippery Rock. Wheeling started things with a bang as Mady Winters knocked down the first kill of the day to give Wheeling a 1-0 lead in set one. However, the Rock would respond taking a 4-2 lead before Samantha Comer knocked down a kill to break the run. Wheeling responded with a 5-0 run as they extended their lead to 7-4, with Riley Kindall picking up two kills on the run. It would be a competitive set throughout, with neither team holding more than that three points lead until late in the set. Slippery Rock led 16-14 and Comer came through once again with a kill to make it a one-point set. A 5-1 run gave the Cardinals their biggest lead of the day and another 5-1 run would set up set point for the Cardinals at 24-19. A Slippery Rock kill by Kaitlyn Danczcak kept the Rock alive and Karly Niesen knocks down a kill to win the set 25-20 and took a 1-0 lead in the match.

Set two would see the Rock get out to their hottest start of the day, scoring seven of the first 10 points to take a 7-3 lead. Kindall would knock down a kill to get Wheeling back on track as they would slowly battle back in the set. They got to within a point of Slippery Rock at 10-9, before the Rock made it a 12-9 game. An attack error for the ball back in the Cardinal's hands and they went on a 7-2 run to take control of the set at 16-14. With the set once again tied at 16-16, Katie Wilking would get in on the kill parade and sent the Cardinals on a 6-2 run that made it 22-18 in favor of the Cardinals. Karly Niesen and Winters each got kills to set up set point and a Slippery Rock attack error would end the set at 25-18. The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the set as they looked for a sweep to start the day.

In set three, the roles were reversed as Wheeling would be the one to get out to a 7-3 lead. Kindall had three kills during the run and Wilking added two of her own as the Cardinals got the lead. Slippery Rock would battle back in the set several times and as the set reached its halfway point, Wheeling held a three-point lead at 17-14. A service error would get the ball back to Wheeling and the Cardinals took advantage of an attack error to go ahead 20-14. Slippery Rock hit their biggest run of the day, scoring four straight points and they made it 20-18. A Bella DeBarr kill broke the run and sent Wheeling on a 5-2 run that ended the set. With Wheeling ahead 22-19, a pair of Slippery Rock attack errors would set up match point at 24-19. Samantha Comer would knock down the final kill as Wheeling picked up the sweep with a 25-19 set win.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Riley Kindall, who picked up a double-double with 21 kills and 10 digs. It was the start of what would be a big day for the senior as she set a new season-high and earned her fifth double-double of the season. Karly Niesen would lead the offensive effort with 40 assists and led an efficient Cardinal attack that hit .328 on the day. In the defensive side, Berit Jones paced the effort with 13 digs on the day. Chylyn Pate added 12 digs and Kindall added 10 digs to round out the day. With a 3-0 record on the weekend, the Cardinals looked to end the weekend with a clean sweep as they headed into a big match against Clarion.

Game Two: Wheeling 3, Clarion 0

Heading into match two, the Cardinals would face the 2023 NCAA DII Atlantic Region Champions Clarion. The Golden Eagles came out strong early, a scoring the first three points of the set. Mady Winters would break the run with a kill and Wheeling battled back to tie the match at 5-5. The teams would trade the next two points and Riley Kindall would send the team on a 6-1 run that gave Wheeling a 12-6 lead. Clarion would keep things close throughout the set, getting as close as 18-17, but a 3-0 Cardinal run got the team over the 20-point mark. After a Cassidy Snider kill broke the run, Wheeling scored three straight points to set up set point at 24-18. A bad set and a service ace would keep Clarion in it, but a service error would end the set at 25-20 and the Cardinals took an early 1-0 lead in the match.

Set two would see Clarion get the early lead, scoring the first five points before Wheeling got on the board. On their second point of the set, Riley Kindall would make history knocking down her 1,000th career kill as the Cardinals made it a 5-2 score. Clarion continued to hold the lead until the score sat at 10-6 before Kindall started a 3-0 run with a kill as the Cardinals made it 10-9. Wheeling would trail 18-16 late in the set, before Winters and Kindall each knocked down kills to tie things at 18-18. Clarion's Cassidy Snider would get the Golden Eagles back in front, but Wheeling would score five straight points to make it 23-19. Snider would knock down another kill, but a service ace followed to set up set point for the Cardinals. A Clarion attack error would end the set at 25-20 and the Cardinals took their second 2-0 lead of the day.

The third set once again saw Clarion jump out to an early lead, scoring four straight points, and the Cardinals would battle back. They stayed within one to two points of the Golden Eagles early and midway through the set things sat at 15-12 in favor of Clarion. Kindall would add a kill and the Cardinals were off and running on a 7-1 set that put the Cardinals up 19-16. Clarion tied the match at 19-19 with three straight points and as the set moved on, they sat tied at 20-20. The game-winning run would start with a Clarion attack error as the Cardinals scored three straight points to make it 22-20. After a kill by Olivia Ishmael, a service error would put the ball back in Wheeling's court. Riley Kindall knocked down a kill to bring up match point at 24-21 and Melia Gorrell ended the night with a service ace that gave Wheeling the 25-21 set win and a 3-0 sweep.

Leading the way once again for the Cardinals was Riley Kindall, with 20 kills and a second double double on the day. She added 10 digs on the defensive side as she finished with 41 kills and 20 digs through her team's two matches. Samantha Comer added nine kills on the day and would add a service ace as well as Melia Gorrell's match-sin ing service ace. Karly Niesen finished with 33 assists to lead the Cardinal's offense while Chylyn Pate led the defense with 12 digs. It was a big weekend of regional play for the Cardinals and they look to ride that momentum into MEC play.

The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Friday, September 27th, when they take on West Virginia State at 7 PM.