West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team will step out of Mountain East Conference play on Tuesday evening as they travel to Salem for a non-conference match. The Hilltoppers and Tigers are set for a 7 p.m. first serve in the T. Edward Davis Gymnasium.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Salem, W.Va. (T. Edward Davis Gymnasium)
• First Serve: 7 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Tuesday's match with a record of 13-4 (3-0 MEC) following a sweep of Fairmont State this past Friday. The Hilltoppers are in sole possession of first place in the North Division of the Mountain East Conference standings.
• Through 17 matches this season WLU is hitting .193 while averaging 12.0 kills, 11.2 assists, 1.6 aces, 16.6 digs, and 1.7 blocks per set.
• As a team, West Liberty ranks within the top-10 of NCAA Division II in four statistical categories, ranking third in the country in total digs (1,142), fifth in total attacks (2,469), sixth in total assists (770), and seventh in total kills (831).
• Katelynn Fritz and Ashley Cudnik lead the attack for West Liberty, totaling 177 and 125 kills on the season and averaging 2.68 and 2.60 kills per set respectively.
• Freshman Dakoda Keni has been among the top setters in the country throughout the early portion of the season, having tallied 520 assists which is third in the MEC and is 38th^th nationally. Keni has the fourth most total assists by a freshman in DII this season and has been averaging 7.54 assists per set.
• Bella Dart leads the Black & Gold at the service line, recording 30 service aces on the season which is 26^th in DII and is third in the conference. Dart is averaging 0.47 aces per set. Nyia Setla is second on the team, adding 25 aces on the year.
• Setla, the leader of the West Liberty defense, has collected 344 digs on the season, which is the most in the MEC and third in NCAA Division II. She is also second in the conference and 35^th nationally with 4.99 digs per set.
• Grace Hill leads the Hilltoppers at the net, totaling 50.0 blocks while ranking third in the conference, and is averaging 0.91 blocks per set. Page Gross has added 32.0 blocks and is averaging 0.59 blocks per set.
• Riley Jarrett is in her fourth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 62-34 with the Hilltoppers.

SALEM STORYLINES

• Salem enters Tuesday's match with a record of 4-9 following a 3-1 win over Cincinnati-Clermont on Saturday.
• Through 13 matches this season SU is hitting .116 while averaging 10.4 kills, 7.8 assists, 1.9 aces, 15.0 digs, and 2.0 blocks per set.
• The Tiger attack is led by two players with over 100 kills on the year as Valentina Poti and Noemi Combi have notched 124 and 121 kills respectively. Poti has averaged 2.88 kills per set with a .143 attack percentage, while Combi is averaging 2.81 kills per set with a .274 attack percentage.
• McKenzie Clyncke leads Salem in assists with 195 on the season, averaging 4.53 per set, while Trinity Eliasen has totaled 68 with a 3.09 average.
• Poti and Alayna Cox have each notched a team-high 14 service aces on the season for an average of 0.33 aces per set.
• Cox is one of two players to tally 100 or more digs, leading the team with 206 while Poti has collected 102 on the year.
• At the net Nakyia Middleton leads Salem with 32.0 total blocks, averaging 0.74 blocks per set.
• Matt Carpenter is in his first season as the head coach at Salem with a career record of 4-9 with the Tigers.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty is 8-0 since 2014 against Salem.
• On September 16, 2022 the Hilltoppers swept the Tigers on the road by scores of 25-8, 25-8, and 25-19.