West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team looks to continue its current 5-game win streak that began in last week's home opener as they travel west to face Malone on Tuesday evening. The Hilltoppers and Pioneers are set for a 7 p.m. first serve at Osborne Hall in Canton, Ohio.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Canton, Ohio (Osborne Hall)
• First Serve: 7 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Tuesday's match with a record of 7-2 on the season, the best record in the MEC, following a perfect 5-0 record last week. The Hlltoppers traveled to Buffalo this past weekend and defeated D'Youville (3-2), Lake Erie (3-0), East Stroudsburg (3-2), and Saint Rose (3-1) at the D'Youville Tournament.
• WLU setter, Dakoda Keni was named the tournament MVP and Katelynn Fritz was named to the all-tournament team last weekend at D'Youville.
• Along with Fritz's all-tournament team nod, she was also joined by Nyia Setla to help sweep MEC Player of the Week honors. Fritz totaled 61 kills with a .197 attack percentage and 2.77 kills per set to go along with 59 digs and three service aces, while Setla totaled 93 digs, 19 assists, and 12 service aces last week.
• Through nine matches this season WLU is hitting .195 while averaging 11.8 kills, 10.8 assists, 1.6 aces, 16.2 digs, and 2.0 blocks per set.
• Fritz and Riley Cudnik are the top two attackers for West Liberty, notching 86 and 85 kills respectively through the first nine matches of the season. Fritz is averaging 2.46 kills per set while hitting .213, and Cudnik is averaging 2.24 kills per set and is hitting .297.
• Keni is Hilltoppers assist leader at setter, totaling 224 assists on the season while averaging 5.89 assists per set.
• Bella Dart leads the Black & Gold at the service line, recording 19 service aces on the season, averaging 0.51 service aces per set. Setla is second on the team with 13.
• At libero, Setla is the leader of the West Liberty defense, collecting 173 digs and averaging 4.55 digs per set.
• At the net Grace Hill and Cudnik are the Hilltoppers' top two blockers, totaling 36.0 and 29.0 blocks per set and averaging 1.09 and 0.76 blocks per set.
• Riley Jarrett is in her fourth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 56-32 with the Hilltoppers.

MALONE STORYLINES

• Malone enters Tuesday's match with a record of 2-6 on the season following a 2-2 weekend in their home tournament, the Hall of Fame City Challenge. The Pioneers won the first two matches on Friday against Mercyhurst (3-1) and Seton Hill (3-2) before falling in both Saturday match-ups to Roberts Wesleyan (3-0) and Slippery Rock (3-0).
• Through eight matches this season MU is hitting .106 while averaging 9.4 kills, 8.5 assists, 1.1 aces, 13.1 digs, and 1.6 blocks per set.
• Gabby Rodriguez and Grace Rosko are the top two attackers for Malone, notching 59 and 47 kills respectively through the first eight matches of the season. Rodriguez is averaging 2.19 kills per set while hitting .205, and Rosko is averaging 1.74 kills and is hitting .121.
• Freshman setter Mallory Meinen leads the Pioneers in assists with 106 on the season and is averaging 3.93 assists per set.
• Brianne Salinas leads MU at the service line with 12 service aces on the season, she is averaging 0.44 aces per set.
• Libero Macy McCauley is the defensive leader of the team as she has totaled 143 digs this season, averaging a team-best 5.30 digs per set.
• At the net Salinas and Gabi Smith are the Pioneers' top two blockers, having totaled 20.0 and 16.0 blocks in eight matches. They are averaging 0.74 and 0.62 blocks per set respectively.
• Rafael Gonzalez is in his third season as the head coach at Malone with a career record of 23-43 with the Pioneers.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty and Malone have met four times since the 2017 season, with the Hilltoppers coming out on top in all four contests.
• The most recent match-up was on September 14, 2021 in the friendly confines of the ASRC, as the Black & Gold won 3-1.