West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team looks to open conference play 2-0 for the first time since 2018 when they opened the league slate with six consecutive wins, as they host Notre Dame on Tuesday evening. The Hilltoppers and Falcons are set for a 7 p.m. first serve in the ASRC.

GAME DETAILS

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

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Tuesday's match with a record of 11-4 (1-0 MEC) on the season following a 3-2 win on the road against Charleston in the MEC opener. The win marked the first win in a conference opener since the 2018 season for the Hilltoppers.
• Junior libero Nyia Setla claimed her third MEC Defensive Player of the Week honor through only four weeks of the season thus far. She tallied 27 digs in the win over the Golden Eagles to record her 15^th double-digit dig game of the year and eighth of 20 or more.
• Through 15 matches this season WLU is hitting .193 while averaging 12.0 kills, 11.1 assists, 1.5 aces, 16.5 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, ranking second in the country in total digs (1,024), third in total kills (744) and total attacks (2,194), and is fourth in total assists (688).
• Katelynn Fritz and Ashley Cudnik lead the attack for West Liberty, totaling 156 and 121 kills on the season and averaging 2.64 and 2.63 kills per set respectively.
• Freshman Dakoda Keni has been among the top setters in the country throughout the early portion of the season, having tallied 452 assists which is third in the MEC and is 33rd nationally. Keni has the fourth most total assists by a freshman in DII this season and has been averaging 7.29 assists per set.
• Bella Dart leads the Black & Gold at the service line, recording 26 service aces on the season which is 28^th in DII and is third in the conference. Dart is averaging 0.46 aces per set. Setla is second on the team, adding 20 aces on the year.
• Setla, the leader of the West Liberty defense, has collected 310 digs on the season, which is the most in the MEC and third in NCAA Division II. She is also second in the conference and 38^th nationally with 5.00 digs per set.
• Grace Hill leads the Hilltoppers at the net, totaling 44.0 blocks while ranking fourth in the conference, and is averaging 0.92 blocks per set. 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 60-34 with the Hilltoppers.

NOTRE DAME STORYLINES

• Notre Dame enters Wednesday's match with a record of 2-7 (1-0 MEC) on the season following a 3-2 win at West Virginia Wesleyan in their MEC opener.
• Sydney Bray was named the MEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, recording a game and career-high 24 kills in the Falcons win against the Bobcats. She also collected 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the year and added a career-high four service aces.
• Through nine matches this season NDC is hitting .122 while averaging 10.6 kills, 9.8 assists, 1.2 aces, 15.1 digs, and 1.6 blocks per set.
• Bray is the top attacker for Notre Dame, totaling 132 kills and 3.88 kills per set. She has tallied a .239 attack percentage on 331 total attacks. Bray ranks second in the MEC in kills per set, points per set (4.49), and is third in attacks per set (9.74). Samantha Comer is second on the team with 62 kills and 2.95 kills per set.
• At setter, the Falcons are led by Jayme Zoeckler with 290 assists on the year and is averaging the fifth most per set in the league with 8.53 assists. She also leads NDC at the service line with 11 aces and 0.32 aces per set.
• Defensively Notre Dame is led by Kiley Kalina at libero, notching 140 digs and 4.24 digs per set.
• Kelsie Palmer and Bray lead the Falcons at the net, totaling 19.0 and 17.0 blocks respectively with an average of 0.56 and 0.50 blocks per set.
• Erica Kostelac is in her first season as the head coach at Notre Dame with a career record of 2-7 during her time with the Falcons.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since 2010 West Liberty holds a 14-9 lead in the all-time series and has won three of the past five meetings.
• The Falcons won the first match up last season on September 20, 2022, in South Euclid three sets to one, while the Hilltoppers earned a sweep at home on October 18, 2022.