West Liberty, W.Va. – This weekend the West Liberty University volleyball team will face four of the top opponents from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) as they co-host the 2023 Atlantic Region Crossover with Wheeling University. The Hilltoppers will be joined by Notre Dame (Ohio) as the MEC representatives in the ASRC during Friday and Saturday's matches. On Friday WLU will square off against Slippery Rock and Clarion, followed by Shippensburg and Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: West Liberty, W.Va. (ASRC "Academic Sports and Recreation Complex")
• First Serve: Friday vs. Slippery Rock (1 P.M.) and vs. Clarion (5 P.M.); Saturday vs. Shippensburg (11 A.M.) and vs. Pitt-Johnstown (5 P.M.)
• More Info: For schedules, rosters, stats, and more about every team participating this weekend, click on the tournament page above.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters the weekend with a record of 8-2 on the season following a 3-1 win over Malone on Tuesday.
• Through ten matches this season WLU is hitting .199 while averaging 12.1 kills, 11.1 assists, 1.6 aces, 16.4 digs, and 1.9 blocks per set.
• Katelynn Fritz and Riley Cudnik are West Liberty's top attackers, totaling 98 and 85 kills this season. Cudnik's .297 attack percentage ranks seventh amongst the MEC leaders, while Fritz is hitting .218 on the year.
• After notching double figure kills in Tuesday's match against Malone, Ashley Cudnik and Leah Driscoll have also emerged as attackers to watch. Cudnik recorded a game high 15 kills against the Pioneers and is averaging 2.45 kills per set, while Driscoll added 12 kills against MU and is averaging 2.18 kills per set.
• With 273 assists through the first ten matches of the season, Dakoda Keni is the Hilltoppers top setter, averaging 6.50 assists per set which ranks seventh in the MEC. In the last outing against Malone, Keni posted a season-high of 49 assists which were the most by a WLU athlete since Chelsea Byrge notched 56 in a match against Fairmont State on November 6, 2012.
• WLU is led by Bella Dart at the service line who is second in NCAA Division II with 24 service aces this season and ranks third in the MEC with 0.59 aces per set.
• Defensively, Nyia Setla is one of the top liberos in the country, leading DII with 196 total digs and averaging 4.67 digs per set which is fourth best in the MEC.
• At the net Grace Hill's 36 total blocks ranks 16^th nationally, and she is joined by Riley Cudnik on the front row who has totaled 29 on the year. The duo ranks first and fourth respectively in the conference.
• Riley Jarrett is in her fourth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 57-32 with the Hilltoppers.

SLIPPERY ROCK STORYLINES

• Slippery Rock enters the weekend with a record of 6-2 on the season following a 3-1 weekend at the Hall of Fame City Challenge where they lost their opening match to Walsh (3-1) before defeating Roberts Wesleyan (3-1), Frostburg State (3-1), and Malone (3-0).
• Through eight matches this season SRU is hitting .214 while averaging 13.0 kills, 11.8 assists, 1.8 aces, 18.2 digs, and 2.1 blocks per set.
• While The Rock lead NCAA Division II attack per set with 40.41, and they are led by Lauren VonderHaar, Chelsie Wheeler, and Mary Berger rank seventh, ninth, and 12^th respectively in hitting percentage in the PSAC. VonderHaar is hitting. 323 with 1.37 kills per set, Wheeler is hitting .291 with 1.68 kills per set, and Berger is hitting .287 with 1.67 kills per set.
• Erica Selfridge averages a team-best 2.81 kills per set and is followed by Callie Chavalier who averages 2.74 kills per set.
• Leading the team with 180 assists on the season, Jaeden Yost ranks 13^th in the PSAC with 6.67 assists per set.
• Averaging 1.26 blocks per set at the net, VonderHaar leads the PSAC and ranks 22^nd in NCAA Division II.
• Defensively, Kate Lachendro averages 5.44 digs per set to lead the PSAC and rank 20^th nationally, while Erica Selfridge adds 4.52 to rank fifth in the conference.
• Laurie Lokash is in her 40^th season as the head coach at Slippery Rock with a career record of 668-628 during her time with The Rock.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since 2013 West Liberty holds an 8-3 advantage in the series against Slippery Rock and has won five of the last six meetings.
• The Hilltoppers won the last meeting 3-1 on September 9, 2022 with set wins of 25-21, 22-25, 25-19, and 25-18 in the ASRC.

(RV) CLARION STORYLINES

• Clarion enters the weekend with a record of 7-1 on the season following a 3-1 weekend at the Hampton Inn and Suites Grand Rapids Downtown Classic where the defeated Davenport (3-2), Tiffin (3-1), and Ursuline (3-0), but fell to the hosts of Grand Valley State (3-0) in their second game of the weekend.
• Through eight matches this season CU is hitting .218 while averaging 12.4 kills, 11.3 assists, 1.9 aces, 13.0 digs, and 1.8 blocks per set.
• Clarions front row is led by the duo of Cassidy Snider and Charlie Allison who rank sixth and tenth respectively in the PSAC in hitting percentage at .330 and .289 respectively.
• Snider's 4.23 kills per set not only ranks third in the conference but 16^th nationally.
• London Fuller leads the PSAC with 10.33 assists per set and ranks 24^th in NCAA Division II.
• Averaging the second most service aces per set with 0.63, Abigail Selfridge's 19 total aces on the year rank 18^th in DII. She adds 3.27 digs per set to lead the team and ranks 15^th in the conference.
• At the net Finley Kearney leads the Golden Eagles with 1.10 blocks per set, ranking fourth in the league.
• Jennifer Herron is in her 17^th season as the head coach at Clarion with a career record of 373-161 during her time with the Golden Eagles.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since 2016 Clarion holds a 6-1 advantage in the series against West Liberty.
• The Hilltoppers defeated the Golden Eagles 3-1 with set scores of 23-25, 25-15, 25-15, and 27-25 in last season's Atlantic Region Crossover on September 10, 2022.
• CU avenged the regular season loss with a 3-0 win in WLU's NCAA Tournament debut, winning sets by scores of 26-25, 25-16, and 25-21 in Erie, Pennsylvania, on November 18, 2022.

SHIPPENSBURG STORYLINES

• Shippensburg enters the weekend with a record of 6-2 on the season following a 4-0 weekend at the Chowan Tournament where they defeated Chowan (3-0), Elizabeth City State (3-0), Catawba (3-0), and Lincoln Memorial (3-1).
• Through eight matches this season SU is hitting .156 while averaging 11.4 kills, 10.5 assists, 1.8 aces, 15.3 digs, and 1.6 blocks per set.
• The Raiders front row is led by the trio of Emily Gardner, Maddie Clabaugh, and Gracen Nutt who averages 2.60, 2.37, and 2.30 kills per set respectively.
• Totaling 240 assists on the season, Kearstin Davis ranks seventh in the PSAC with 8.57 assists per set. Davis also leads SU at the service line with 15 aces through eight matches, ranking eighth in the conference with 0.54 aces per set.
• Shay Kolivoski is one of two players defensively to average three or more digs per set for Shippensburg as she leads the team with 3.50 digs per set to rank 11^th in the PSAC. She is joined by Davis who adds 3.04 digs per set.
• At the net the Raiders are led by Kaitlyn Townsend and Hailey Cappleman who have collected 21 and 18 blocks this year, averaging 0.78 and 0.64 blocks per set.
• Leanne Piscotty is in her 20^th season as the head coach at Shippensburg with a career record of 409-242 during her time with the Raiders.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since 2013 West Liberty holds the narrow 4-3 advantage over Shippensburg in the series and has won the last two meetings.
• In the most recent match-up, the Hilltoppers defeated the Raiders 3-1 in last season's Atlantic Region Crossover with set scores of 25-19, 25-18, 20-25, and 25-23 in the ASRC on September 9, 2022.

PITT-JOHNSTOWN STORYLINES

• Pitt-Johnstown enters the weekend with a record of 6-1 on the season following a 3-0 weekend at the West Chester University Tournament where they defeated West Chester (3-0), West Virginia Wesleyan (3-0), and Felician (3-0).
• Through seven matches this season UPJ is hitting .171 while averaging 12.0 kills, 11.2 assists, 2.7 aces, 17.6 digs, and 1.2 blocks per set.
• Lualis Alvarado leads the attack for Pitt-Johnstown by averaging 3.35 kills per set, ranking eighth in the PSAC, while Mallory Pinske adds 2.17 kills per set and the highest hitting percentage in the league at .358.
• Adiamar Beaz is one of the top players to watch for UPJ on the court as she leads the PSAC and ranks 18^th in NCAA Division II with 0.71 service aces per set while also ranking second in the league and 34^th nationally with 10.00 assists per set.
• Another Mountain Cat to watch at the service line is Chloe Bidelman who ranks sixth in the PSAC with 0.58 aces per set. As a team Pitt-Johnstown is the number six team nationally with 2.71 aces per set.
• Gabi DeRenzo averages 4.79 digs per set for Pitt-Johnstown, ranking fourth in the PSAC.
• While Pinske and Journey Welling led the team with only 11 and ten blocks this season, the UPJ defense has limited opponents to a .103 attack percentage which ranks 13^th in DII.
• Justin Haupt is in his fourth season at Pitt-Johnstown with a career record of 40-27 during his time with the Mountain Cats.

SERIES HISTORY

• Pitt-Johnstown holds the 9-4 advantage in the series since 2010, however West Liberty has won three of the past four meetings.
• In the season opener last year, the Hilltoppers defeated the Mountain Cats 3-1 with set scores of 25-20, 22-25, 25-16, and 25-22 in the ASRC on September 6, 2022.