West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team will start Mountain East Conference action on Friday evening when they travel to Charleston, looking to start conference play 1-0 for the first time since 2018. The Hilltoppers and Golden Eagles are set for a 7 p.m. first serve in the Wehrle Innovation Center.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Charleston, W.Va. (Wehrle Innovation Center)
• First Serve: 7 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Friday's match with a record of 10-4 on the season following a 2-2 weekend in the Atlantic Region Crossover. The Hilltoppers defeated Slippery Rock (3-0) and Shippensburg (3-2) but fell to (RV) Clarion (3-0) and Pitt Johnstown (3-1).
• Junior libero Nyia Setla added her second all-tournament honor of the season, being named the Outstanding Libero in the combined selection between the West Liberty and Wheeling sites for matches.
• Through 14 matches this season WLU is hitting .188 while averaging 12.1 kills, 11.1 assists, 1.5 aces, 16.4 digs, and 1.7 blocks per set.
• As a team, West Liberty ranks within the top-5 of NCAA Division II in four statistical categories, leading the country in total digs (937) and total attacks (2,027), while ranking third in both total assists (633) and total kills (688).
• Katelynn Fritz and Ashley Cudnik lead the attack for West Liberty, totaling 146 and 108 kills on the season and averaging 2.70 and 2.63 kills per set respectively. Fritz is 47^th nationally with 412 total attacks and 50^th in total kills.
• Freshman Dakoda Keni has been among the top setters in the country throughout the early portion of the season, having tallied 419 assists which is third in the MEC and is tied for 18^th nationally. Keni is tied for the most assists by a freshman in DII this season and has been averaging 7.35 assists per set. She posted match totals of 49 and 53 assists this past week, ranking second for most in a 4-set match and fourth for most in a 5-set match respectively in the MEC.
• Bella Dart leads the Black & Gold at the service line, recording 25 service aces on the season which is tied for 13^th in DII and is third in the conference. Dart is averaging 0.45 aces per set. Setla is second on the team, adding 19 aces on the year.
• Setla, the leader of the West Liberty defense, has collected 283 digs on the season, which is the most in the MEC and second in NCAA Division II. She is also second in the conference and 35^th nationally with 4.96 digs per set.
• Grace Hill leads the Hilltoppers at the net, totaling 43.0 blocks while ranking third in the conference and is tied for 43^rd nationally. She is averaging 1.00 block per set which is fourth in the league. Cudnik has added 29.0 total blocks 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 59-34 with the Hilltoppers.

CHARLESTON STORYLINES

• Charleston enters Friday's match with a record of 7-5 on the season following a 1-3 weekend in the Walk On's UWF Invitational. The Golden Eagles defeated Spring Hill (3-2) but fell to West Florida (3-0), Lewis (3-0), and Flagler (3-0).
• Through 12 matches this season UC is hitting .227 while averaging 11.7 kills, 10.7 assists, 1.9 aces, 12.8 digs, and 1.6 blocks per set.
• As a team, Charleston ranks third in the MEC in aces per set (1.93), total service aces (79), and hitting percentage (.227).
• Pie Selke is the top attacker in the conference and ranks 17^th nationally with a .405 attack percentage. She has totaled 133 kills on the year and is averaging 3.24 kills per set.
• Emma Shepherd is the only other UC attacker to reach 100 kills on the year, totaling 110 while averaging 2.68 kills per set.
• At setter, Charleston has a pair of athletes who have recorded 150+ assists. Led by Maria Hernandez with 230 and followed by Suzan Agterberg with 153, they are averaging 5.75 and 4.25 assists per set.
• Shepherd is one of the top players in the country at the service line, totaling 26 aces and 0.63 aces per set, ranking second in the MEC in both and is tied for 11^th and is 18^th respectively in DII.
• Defensively, libero Janna Morrissey is the leader for the Golden Eagles, notching 115 digs on the year with an average of 3.29 digs per set.
• Reagan McLean leads UC at the net, tallying 26.0 blocks with an average of 0.96 blocks per set. She is followed by Kate Strong who has added 18.0 blocks and an average 0.62 blocks per set.
• Tyler Kanelos is in his third season as the head coach at Charleston with a career record of 62-21 during his time with the Golden Eagles.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty and Charleston have split the last six meetings in the series dating back to 2017.
• With last year's 3-1 win for the Golden Eagles on October 14, 2022, they have now won two straight in the match-up.