West Liberty, W.Va. – The top spot in the MEC North Division will be on the line on Tuesday night when the West Liberty University volleyball team welcomes Wheeling to the ASRC. The Hilltoppers and Cardinals enter the 7 p.m. match with identical 3-1 conference records.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: West Liberty, W.Va.  (Academic Sports & Recreation Complex "ASRC")
• First Serve: 7 P.M.
• Promotion: The first 75 students will receive a free t-shirt after the second set.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Tuesday's match with a record of 14-5 (3-1 MEC) following a loss at Frostburg State on Friday evening. The Hilltoppers are tied for first place in the North Division of the Mountain East Conference standings.
• Through 19 matches this season WLU is hitting .192 while averaging 12.1 kills, 11.2 assists, 1.6 aces, 16.8 digs, and 1.6 blocks per set.
• As a team, West Liberty ranks within the top-15 of NCAA Division II in four statistical categories, ranking fifth in the country in total digs (1,279), eighth in total attacks (2,740), 11th in total kills (921), and 12 in total assists (851).
• Katelynn Fritz and Liv McAtee lead the attack for the Black & Gold, totaling 198 and 148 kills on the season and averaging 2.71 and 2.11 kills per set respectively.
• Dakoda Keni has been among the top setters in the country throughout the season, having tallied 582 assists which is third in the MEC and is 42^nd nationally. Keni has the third most total assists by a freshman in DII this season and has been averaging 7.66 assists per set.
• Bella Dart leads the Hilltoppers at the service line, recording 32 service aces on the season which is 34^th in DII and is third in the conference. Dart is averaging 0.45 aces per set. Nyia Setla is second on the team, adding 26 aces on the year.
• Setla, the leader of the West Liberty defense, has collected 378 digs on the season, which leads the MEC and is third in NCAA Division II. She is also second in the conference and 31^st nationally with 4.97 digs per set.
• In last week's match against Salem, Setla became only the third player in program history to reach the 2,000 career dig mark.
• Grace Hill leads the Hilltoppers at the net, totaling 57.0 blocks while ranking third in the conference, and is averaging 0.92 blocks per set. Page Gross has added 33.0 blocks and is averaging 0.54 blocks per set.
• Riley Jarrett is in her fourth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 63-35 with the Hilltoppers.

WHEELING STORYLINES

• Wheeling enters Tuesday's match with a record of 11-6 (3-1 MEC) following sweeps of Notre Dame and Slippery Rock on Friday and Saturday. The Cardinals are tied for first place in the North Division of the Mountain East Conference standings.
• Through 17 matches this season WU is hitting .249 while averaging 13.7 kills, 13.1 assists, 0.7 aces, 18.1 digs, and 2.1 blocks per set.
• As a team, Wheeling ranks within the top-20 of NCAA Division II in four statistical categories, ranking 11^th in the country in assists per set (13.10), 13^th in digs per set (18.15), 16^th in hitting percentage (.256), and 20^th in kills per set (13.73).
• The Cardinal attack is led by Tylah Yeomans and Riley Kindall who have both reached the 200 kill mark in 2023. Yeomans has notched 222 kills and is averaging 3.64 kills per set with a .304 attack percentage, while Kindall has totaled 204 kills and is averaging 3.29 kills per set with a .217 attack percentage.
• At the service line Abbey Queen has tallied a team-best nine aces, followed by Kindall with seven.
• Karly Niesen leads the MEC in both assists per set (11.60) and total assists (661), while also ranking fourth and 17^th nationally in NCAA Division II. Niesen was named the MEC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon.
• Kindall leads the Cardinal defense with 216 total digs on the year and is averaging 3.48 digs per set.
• At the net Mady Winters ranks fourth in the league with 0.95 blocks per set, totaling 55.0 on the season.
• Christy Benner is in her 22^nd season as the head coach at Wheeling with a career record of 681-152 during her time with the Cardinals.

SERIES HISTORY

• Wheeling is 29-1 against West Liberty since the 2010 season, with the lone Hilltopper win occurring on March 5, 2021 in a 3-1 victory in the ASRC.
• The Cardinals swept the 2022 regular season series and downed WLU 3-1 in the MEC Tournament semifinals on November 11, 2022.