West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team will make their third consecutive Mountain East Conference Tournament Semifinal appearance on Friday afternoon as they take on the champions of the MEC South Division, West Virginia State. The Hilltoppers and Yellow Jackets are slated for a 5 p.m. first serve in the Walker Convocation Center on the campus of WVSU in Institute, West Virginia.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Institute, W.Va. (Walker Convocation Center)
• First Serve: 5 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Friday's match with a record of 23-8 (10-4 MEC) following a 4-set win over Concord in Thursday night's MEC Tournament Quarterfinal match. The Hilltoppers finished second in the North Division of the Mountain East Conference standings and have won nine of their last 11 matches.
• For the sixth consecutive poll and third straight year WLU has appeared in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Rankings, remaining at No. 8 in the NCAA's third and final release on Wednesday. It marks the second year in a row where WLU appeared in all three of the NCAA's regional rankings.
• A total of four Hilltoppers were selected to the All-MEC teams, as Nyia Setla, Katelynn Fritz, Liv McAtee, and Dakoda Keni received recognition on Wednesday afternoon. Setla was named All-MEC First Team and was the MEC Libero of the Year for the second consecutive season, while Fritz, McAtee, and Keni earned All-MEC Honorable Mention honors. Keni was also selected to the All-MEC Freshman Team.
• Through 31 matches this season WLU is hitting .197 while averaging 12.3 kills, 11.5 assists, 1.7 aces, 16.8 digs, and 1.7 blocks per set.
• The Hilltoppers rank within the top-30 of NCAA Division II in three statistical categories to end the regular season, ranking 15^th in total digs (1,916), 22^nd in total attacks (4,139), and 30^th in opponent hitting percentage (0.147).
• Fritz is among the top-10 of the individual leaders in the MEC with 318 total kills which is tenth most in the league. She is averaging 2.77 kills per set with a .187 attack percentage.
• McAtee and Leah Driscoll are second and third on the team respectively with 268 and 249 kills. McAtee has notched 2.41 kills per set with a .236 attack percentage, while Driscoll has collected 2.77 kills per set and has a .202 attack percentage.
• Keni has been among the top freshman setters in the country this season, having tallied 996 assists which is third` in the MEC and is the seventh most by a freshman in DII. Keni has been averaging 8.44 assists per set, which is fifth best in the conference. She currently holds and is adding to the WLU single-season record mark for single-season assists, breaking the record in a win at Fairmont State on November 3^rd.
• Bella Dart and Setla lead the Hilltoppers at the service line, as both have recorded 37 service aces to average 0.35 and 0.32 aces per set.
• Setla, the leader of the West Liberty defense, has collected 573 digs on the season, which ranks second in the MEC and is the 11^th most in DII. She is also second in the conference and 31^st nationally with 5.03 digs per set.
• Grace Hill leads the Hilltoppers at the net and ranks seventh in the league with 97.0 total blocks and an average of 0.95 blocks per set, that is sixth in the MEC. Page Gross has added 63.0 blocks and is averaging 0.61 blocks per set.
• Riley Jarrett is in her fourth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 72-38 with the Hilltoppers.

WEST VIRGINIA STATE STORYLINES

• West Virginia State enters Friday's match with a record of 25-4 (14-1 MEC) following a 4-set win over Notre Dame in Thursday's MEC Tournament Quarterfinals. The Yellow Jackets won their third MEC South Division title in the last four seasons and have won their past 11 matches. WVSU is 12-0 inside the Walker Convocation Center in 2023 and are 39-4 at home in the last four years.
• Five Yellow Jackets were named to All-MEC teams on Wednesday afternoon as Hillary Hurley, Diamond'Nique Young, Jacklyn Simms, Kiersten Eggleton, and Valencia Wilder were recognized by the league office. Hurley was named the MEC Coach of the Year while Young and Simms were selected as All-MEC First Team. Eggleton earned All-MEC Second Team honors and Wilder was named All-MEC Freshman Team.
• Through 29 matches this season WVSU is hitting .271 while averaging 13.7 kills, 12.4 assists, 1.9 aces, 15.6 digs, and 2.4 blocks per set.
• The Yellow Jackets ranked within the top-25 of NCAA Division II in three statistical categories to end the regular season, ranking eighth in hitting percentage (.274), 12^th in opponent hitting percentage (.127), and 20^th in kills per set (13.78).
• The duo of Young and Simms lead the attack for State. Young ranks third in the MEC in both kills per set (3.62) and attack percentage (.314), while ranking ninth in the league in total kills (322). Simms ranks sixth in both kills per set (3.54) and attack percentage (.287), while totaling 280 kills in 2023.
• Eggleton is one of the top setters in the league, ranking fourth in the MEC with 8.30 assists per set and fifth with 772 total assists. She is also the team-leader with 37 service aces, averaging 0.40 aces per set.
• Alex Darby leads West Virginia State defensively as she ranks fourth in digs per set (4.06) and has collected 272 total digs in 2023.
• Young and Wilder lead the Yellow Jackets at the net. Young ranks fourth in the league with 0.99 blocks per set and is ninth with 88.0 total blocks. Wilder is averaging 0.93 blocks per set while collecting 79.0 total blocks this season.
• Hurley is in her first season as the head coach at West Virginia State, holding a career record of 25-4 during her time with the Yellow Jackets.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since 2010 West Liberty holds a 12-2 advantage in the series.
• West Virginia State snapped an 11-game losing streak in the series in the regular season meeting, defeating the Hilltoppers 3-1 in the ASRC on October 27. Liv McAtee led WLU with 15 kills and added three blocks, while Dakoda Keni tallied 32 assists and Nyia Setla notched 21 digs.
• The teams met in last season's MEC Tournament Quarterfinals where the Hilltoppers eliminated the Yellow Jackets with a sweep in Charleston, West Virginia, on November 10, 2022.