West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team enters the final week of the regular season with a top-2 spot in the MEC North Division already locked up when they host Frostburg State on Monday evening. The Hilltoppers host the Bobcats in their final match of the 2023 season inside the ASRC with a 7 p.m. first serve scheduled.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: West Liberty, W.Va. (Academic Sports & Recreation Complex "ASRC")
• First Serve: 7 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Monday's match with a record of 21-7 (9-3 MEC) following a 4-set win at Fairmont State on Friday night, marking their seventh win in their last eight matches. The Hilltoppers, who are currently in second place in the North Division of the Mountain East Conference standings, have clinched a top-2 seed in the division for the upcoming conference tournament.
• For the third consecutive year WLU appeared in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Rankings, as they were announced as a team under consideration in the initial poll on Wednesday that listed teams in alphabetical order. The Black & Gold were ranked in all three polls last season en route to their first-ever NCAA Division II Tournament appearance.
• Through 28 matches this season WLU is hitting .191 while averaging 12.2 kills, 11.3 assists, 1.6 aces, 16.7 digs, and 1.7 blocks per set.
• The Hilltoppers rank within the top-25 of NCAA Division II in three statistical categories, ranking ninth in total digs (1,803), 15^th in total attacks (3,886), and 23^rd in opponent hitting percentage (.141).
• Katelynn Fritz is among the top-10 of the individual leaders in the MEC with 282 total kills which is ninth most in the league. She is averaging 2.69 kills per set with a .181 attack percentage.
• Liv McAtee and Leah Driscoll are second and third on the team respectively with 232 and 215 kills. McAtee has notched 2.30 kills per set with a .225 attack percentage, while Driscoll has collected 2.69 kills per set and has a .191 attack percentage.
• Dakoda Keni has been among the top freshman setters in the country this season, having tallied 870 assists which is third in the MEC and is the seventh most by a freshman in DII. Keni has been averaging 8.06 assists per set, which is fifth best in the conference. In Friday night's match against the Falcons she broke the WLU single-season record for assists.
• Bella Dart and Nyia Setla lead the Hilltoppers at the service line, recording 36 and 35 service aces respectively to average 0.38 and 0.32 aces per set.
• Setla, the leader of the West Liberty defense, has collected 534 digs on the season, which ranks second in the MEC and is the eighth most in DII. 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 and ranks seventh in the league with 88.0 total blocks and an average of 0.96 blocks per set that is sixth in the MEC. Page Gross has added 57.0 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 70-37 with the Hilltoppers.

FROSTBURG STATE STORYLINES

• Frostburg State enters Monday's match with a record of 15-13 (5-7 MEC) following a 5-set win at home against Notre Dame on Friday night. Frostburg has won six of their last seven matches and is in fifth place in the North Division of the Mountain East Conference standings.
• Through 28 matches this season FSU is hitting .164 while averaging 11.4 kills, 10.5 assists, 1.9 aces, 15.5 digs, and 1.9 blocks per set.
• Beverly Braun is one of the top attackers in the MEC, totaling 361 kills this season which ranks second in the conference and 32^nd in DII. She is averaging 3.50 kills per set with an attack percentage of .227.
• Hayley Delor is one of the top setters in the league having posted 937 assists which is second in the MEC and is averaging 9.01 assists per set which is third in the conference.
• At the service line, Braun is one of three FSU players to notch 30 or more aces on the year with 42. AJ Thompson and Hayley Delor have each collected 32 and 31.
• Defensively the Bobcats are led by Fiona Gonzalez Medina who is third in the MEC with 471 total digs and 4.53 digs per set. Nationally she ranks 28^th in total digs.
• At the net, McKaily Thomson-Moran and Thompson lead the team with 69.0 and 67.0 blocks in 2023. They are averaging 0.92 and 0.71 blocks per set respectively.
• Kylie Heyne is in her fourth season as the head coach at Frostburg State with a record of 40-59 during her time with the Bobcats. Overall, she is in her ninth season as a collegiate head volleyball coach, spending the previous five years at Davis & Elkins. She holds a career record of 109-143 during her time at FSU and D&E.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since Frostburg State joined the MEC prior to the start of the 2019 season, West Liberty has held the 8-1 advantage in the series.
• The Bobcats posted their first win over the Hilltoppers since joining the league in the first match-up of 2023, winning 3-1 in Bobcat Arena in Frostburg, Maryland.
• Liv McAtee led the team with 14 kills while Dakoda Keni and Nyia Setla recorded 36 assists and 25 digs respectively.