West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team will play the first two of three consecutive games away from home this weekend with matches at Glenville State and Concord. The Hilltoppers and Pioneers are set for a 7 p.m. first serve on Friday night at the Waco Center in Glenville, West Virginia, and the Black & Gold will round out the weekend on Saturday by taking on the Mountain Lions at 1 p.m. in the Carter Center Gym 2 in Athens, West Virginia.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Friday - Glenville, W.Va. (Waco Center); Saturday - Athens, W.Va. (Carter Center Gym 2)
• First Serve: Friday, October 20 (7 P.M.); Saturday, October 21 (1 P.M.)

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters the weekend with a record of 16-6 (5-2 MEC) following a pair of home sweeps last weekend against Davis & Elkins and West Virginia Wesleyan. The Hilltoppers are in sole possession of second place in the North Division of the Mountain East Conference standings.
• Through 22 matches this season WLU is hitting .190 while averaging 12.1 kills, 11.2 assists, 1.6 aces, 16.8 digs, and 1.7 blocks per set.
• As a team, West Liberty ranks within the top-25 of NCAA Division II in three statistical categories, ranking 11^th in the country in total digs (1,427), 13^th in total attacks (3,068), and is 25^th in total assists (949).
• Katelynn Fritz and Liv McAtee lead the attack for the Black & Gold, totaling 220 and 162 kills on the season and averaging 2.68 and 2.08 kills per set respectively. Riley Cudnik and McAtee have the two highest attack percentages on the team at .284 and .227.
• Dakoda Keni has been among the top setters in the country throughout the season, having tallied 655 assists which is third in the MEC and is 54^th nationally. Keni has the seventh most total assists by a freshman in DII this season and has been averaging 7.71 assists per set.
• Bella Dart and Nyia Setla lead the Hilltoppers at the service line, recording 33 and 30 service aces respectively. They are averaging 0.43 and 0.35 aces per set.
• Setla, the leader of the West Liberty defense, has collected 420 digs on the season, which ranks second in the MEC and is fifth in NCAA Division II. She is also second in the conference and 33^rd  nationally with 4.94 digs per set.
• Grace Hill leads the Hilltoppers at the net, totaling 67.0 blocks while ranking fifth in the conference, and is averaging 0.97 blocks per set. Page Gross has added 42.0 blocks and is averaging 0.60 blocks per set.
• Riley Jarrett is in her fourth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 65-36 with the Hilltoppers.

GLENVILLE STATE STORYLINES

• Glenville State enters the weekend with a record of 9-12 (2-5 MEC) following last weekend's road split, when they lost to Notre Dame (3-1) before bouncing back to sweep Salem. The Pioneers are fourth place in the South Division of the Mountain East Conference standings.
• Through 21 matches this season GSU is hitting .158 while averaging 10.1 kills, 9.1 assists, 1.8 aces, 14.7 digs, and 1.9 blocks per set.
• Katarzyna Niderla and Rita Kella lead the Glenville attack with 188 and 143 kills respectively and are averaging 2.69 and 2.27 kills per set. Niderla ranks among the top of the conference leaders with a .359 hitting percentage.
• At setter, Sarah Grainger has notched a team-best 544 assists this season, averaging 7.77 per set.
• Grainer leads the MEC and ranks ninth in NCAA Division II with 0.60 service aces per set. She has tallied 42 aces this year which is second in the conference and 17^th nationally.
• Lindsay Winkler and Sydney Goodrich lead Glenville State defensively, collecting 228 and 191 digs while averaging 3.35 and 2.81 per set.
• Niderla leads the Pioneers at the net, ranking second in the league in total blocks (78) and blocks per set (1.11). She is 38^th and 47^th respectively in DII.
• Kiara Perkins is in her first season as the head coach at Glenville State with a record of 9-12 during her time with the Pioneers.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty has won 13 consecutive matches against Glenville State since 2010 and has won 39 of the past 42 sets.
• In the most recent meeting on October 7, 2022, the Hilltoppers swept the Pioneers in the ASRC with set scores of 25-11, 25-16, and 25-15.

CONCORD STORYLINES

• Concord enters the weekend with a record of 14-7 (4-3 MEC) following last weekend's road split, when they defeated Salem in straight sets before being swept by Notre Dame. The Mountain Lions are third place in the South Division of the Mountain East Conference standings.
• Through 21 matches this season CU is hitting .203 while averaging 12.0 kills, 11.3 assists, 1.5 aces, 15.1 digs, and 1.7 blocks per set.
• Meg Williams is one of the top attackers in the country, ranking 13^th in NCAA Division II with 315 total kills and 19th with 4.20 kills per set. In the MEC she is first and second respectively. She holds a team-best .242 hitting percentage.
• Paige Richmond and Declyn Tooze have each tallied more than 300 assists this season. Richmond leads the team with 435 and a 5.80 assists per set average. Tooze has recorded 315 with a 4.20 assists per set average.
• At the service line Richmond ranks 17^th nationally in total service aces (42) and is 28^th in aces per set (0.56). She is second in the league in both categories.
• Allie Davis is fourth in the conference with 327 total digs in 2023 and is fifth with 4.36 digs per set.
• At the net Kyndra Pilant ranks third in the league with 70.0 total blocks while averaging 0.93 blocks per set.
• Kate Dillon is in her 15^th season as the head coach at Concord with a record of 172-281 during her time with the Mountain Lions.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty has won 11 of the past 12 meetings in the series dating back to 2010 and has won 34 of the last 42 sets played.
• In the most recent meeting on October 8, 2022, the Hilltoppers swept the Mountain Lions in the ASRC with set scores of 25-15, 25-16, and 25-14.