Wheeling, W. Va. - Every season, Wheeling University Head Volleyball Coach Christy Benner sets up a challenging non-conference schedule to prepare her team for the struggles of Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. 2024 is no different, as the team gets set to tip-off the season at the University of West Florida Tournament on Friday, September 7th, and Saturday, September 8th. Of the four opponents the Cardinals are set to face, two were ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Preseason Poll, giving the team a test against some of the best teams in the nation.
During the 2023 season, the Cardinals also began with the same University of West Florida tournament, as they took on a similar schedule. The team battled throughout the tournament, before returning home for the annual Wheeling Invitational. The team hit their stride on their home floor, winning all four games at home as they headed into their MEC schedule. After dropping the opener to West Virginia State, the Cardinals picked up a five-set victory over Fairmont State that got them back on track. They would end up finishing the conference slate 12-2, earning them the #1 seed in the MEC North. They earned a pair of sweeps over Frostburg State and Fairmont State to start things and battled West Virginia State in the MEC Championship match. After dropping the first set, the Cardinals came back and won 3-1 to claim the MEC title. They qualified for the NCAA DII Regional Tournament, but a 3-2 loss to Shaw in the first round ended their season.
As they enter 2024, the Cardinals will be led once again by two-time defending MEC Player of the Year Karly Niesen. She returns as the team's setter, coming off a year where she became just the third setter in program history to reach the 4,000 career assist mark. She finished with 40 or more assists in 15 different matches last season, including setting a new career-high with 64 against Palm Beach Atlantic She was the conference leader in assists/set (11.63) and total assists (1326) in 2023 while leading an offense that led the conference throughout the year. As a team, the Cardinals led the MEC in hitting percentage (.270), kills (1640), and kills/set (14.02). Niesen looks to continue to lead the Cardinals in 2024 as they get ready for non-conference play.
Joining Niesen on offense is senior Mady Winters, who was the Cardinal's most efficient hitter during the 2023 season. She finished with a .294 hitting percentage on the year and enters the 2024 season with a streak of 20-straight matches of hitting .300 or better. Along with her work on offense, she also established herself as one of the top blockers in the conference. She finished second in the MEC in solo blocks (18), block assists (107), and total blocks (125). Riley Kindall also returns after serving as a six-rotation player for the Cardinals, finishing second on the team in kills (375) while leading the team in digs (410). She looks to continue to be a strong six-rotation player for the team in 2024 and provide some veteran leadership on the defensive side of the ball.
As they enter the first weekend of the season, Benner says that this is one of the toughest non-conference schedules that her team has had in recent seasons. As they open the season, two of the four opponents they face this weekend find themselves in the top 20 of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason poll. They start the weekend off with #20 ranked University of West Florida to start the tournament and wrap up the weekend with #11 ranked Southwest Minnesota State to close out the weekend. Next week, the Cardinals will add two more ranked opponents at the Colorado Premiere Tournament. The early season competition will help get them ready for what they are going to face in MEC play as they chase down another MEC Tournament title and a spot in the Regional Championships.
The Matchups
The University of West Florida: The Cardinals and Tartans are meeting for the 11th time in program history on Friday, with West Florida leading the all-time series at 7-3. The two teams have met in the first week of the season every year since 2016, with the exclusion of the 2020 COVID season. Last year's match would end up going five sets with West Florida pulling out a 3-2 victory. Riley Kindall and former Cardinal Tylah Yeoman's led the offense with 14 kills each while three different Cardinals led the defense with 14 digs.
Oklahoma Baptist University: The Cardinals and Bison will be meeting for the first time in program history when they match up on Friday. Oklahoma Baptist is coming off a strong season that saw them go 22-9 overall and 13-3 in conference play. They ended up winning the Great American Conference and making it to the NCAA DII regional tournament. Last season at the University of West Florida tournament, the Bison would go 1-3 in their four games and Wheeling is looking to hand them a loss in their first matchup.
Spring Hill College: The Cardinals and Badgers are meeting for the fourth time in program history Saturday, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 2-1. All three meetings between the two teams have come in the sunshine State, with the teams meeting up in two of the last three seasons. The Cardinals have won eight of the 12 sets between the two teams, but are meeting for the first time since 2022. In their last meeting, the Cardinals would fall to Speing Hill 3-2 in a thrilling five set match. Former Cardinal Tylah Yeomans led the way with 15 kills while Berit Jones led the effort with 28 digs.
Southwest Minnesota State: The Cardinals and Broncos are meeting for the fourth time in program history on Saturday, with Southwest Minnesota State leading the all-time series at 3-1. The Cardinals would win the first meeting between the two teams back in 2014, but Southwest Minnesota State has taken each of the last three matches. This will be the second season in a row that the two teams have met, after the Broncos took last year's matchup 3-0. Wheeling was led by former Cardinal Tylah Yeoman's, who recorded nine kills, while Berit Jones led the defense with 11 digs.
The Details
The Wheeling University Volleyball team opens the University of West Florida against #20 West Florida on Friday with rip-off at 12:30 PM. You can watch the match live by clicking HERE or follow along with Lice Stats by clicking HERE.
