West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team fell in straight sets to their fellow Ohio County foe, Wheeling, on Tuesday evening in the ASRC. The Cardinals won the match with set scores of 25-21, 25-12, and 25-21, as the Hilltoppers suffered only their second three set loss of the season.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 0, Wheeling 3
Team Records: West Liberty 14-6 (3-2 MEC), Wheeling 12-6 (4-1 MEC)
Attendance: 217
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Three kills by Katelynn Fritz helped push West Liberty to an early 4-2 lead to open the match, however Wheeling surged in front with a 7-2 scoring to take an 8-5 lead. The momentum started to build for the Hilltoppers midway through the frame as a pair of blocks by Page Gross, assisted by Liv McAtee and Fritz, gave WLU the 14-12 lead. The Cardinals, however, remained unfazed, taking 13 of the final 20 points to secure the 25-21 win in the opening set.
• West Liberty never led in the second set as Wheeling jumped out to the early 4-1 lead, A kill by Leah Driscoll momentarily cut the deficit to 7-5, but the Cardinals proceeded to go on a 9-2 scoring run to seize control of the set. McAtee and Fritz sent down kills to bring the Black & Gold within ten points, but WU took three of the final four points of the set to take their largest lead at 25-12.
• A kill by Driscoll set the tone in an attempt to swing the momentum towards West Liberty as the Hilltoppers opened set three with a 4-1 advantage. Wheeling scored three consecutive points to even the match at four before the teams traded the next five points. A 5-0 scoring run then gave the Cardinals their first lead of the set, and they would not surrender it the remainder of the frame. WU led by as many as seven points before the Black & Gold began to chip away late. Facing match point for Wheeling, the Hilltoppers rallied off four consecutive points and a kill by Fritz cut the lead to 24-21, but it would not be enough as the Cardinals captured the match with a kill by Tylah Yeomans.
• Wheeling held the advantage in the match with a .358 attack percentage compared to .210 for West Liberty. The Cardinals also held the edge in points (59-50), kills (50-42), blocks (8-5), assists (45-39), and digs (59-49). The Hilltoppers held the advantage in aces (3-1).
• Fritz recorded her eighth consecutive double digit kill game and recorded her fifth double-double in the last six matches.
• Driscoll notched her ninth double digit kill game of the year and recorded a season-high attack percentage of .370.
• Dakoda Keni collected her 17^th game of the year with 20 or more assists, while Haley Zeck reached double digit assists for the ninth time this season and first time since September 22 in the MEC opener at Charleston.
• Nyia Setla has reached double digit digs in 19 of 20 matches played this season.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Katelynn Fritz: 11 kills, .296 attack percentage, 16 digs, 1 block
Leah Driscoll: 12 kills, .370 attack percentage, 2 blocks
Dakoda Keni: 26 assists, 4 digs, 3 kills, 1 service
Nyia Setla: 13 digs
Haley Zeck: 13 assists, 1 digs
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will look to snap a 2-game losing streak on Friday evening when they welcome Davis & Elkins to the ASRC. The Hilltoppers and Senators are set for 7 p.m. first serve.