WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's volleyball team swings back into early season tournament action tomorrow at the Hyatt Place Bash at the Beach Invitational hosted by Palm Beach Atlantic University. WLU opens up tournament play against Barry University (Fla.) First serve between the Hilltoppers and Buccaneers is set for 5:00 p.m. West Liberty returns to action the following day for a doubleheader with matchups against Palm Beach Atlantic (Fla.) before closing out play against Lynn University (Fla.)
GAME DETAILS:
Date: Friday September 13 - Saturday, September 14, 2024
First Serve Friday: Barry - 5:00 p.m.
First Serve Saturday: Palm Beach Atlantic, 1:00 p.m. ; Lynn - 7:00 p.m.
WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES:
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First-year Head Coach Makenzy Johnson picked up her first collegiate victory in a win over D'Youville (N.Y.) at the Ashland University Volleyball Invitational.
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WLU topped D'Youville (N.Y), 3-1 on day one of the Ashland University Volleyball Invitational
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In that win, Setter/Right Side court general Dakoda Keni served up 39 assists paired with 14 digs
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The Hilltoppers fell in contests against East Stroudsburg, Nova Southeastern and host Ashland this past weekend at the Ashland University volleyball invitational
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The Hilltoppers have faced tough competition and early season challenges with an overall record of 1-5 through six matches played
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Earning back-to-back NCAA Division II Atlantic Region bids West Liberty volleyball has been on the rise over the past few seasons
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WLU finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 23-10
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The Black and Gold went 10-4 in league play to finish second in a highly-competitive MEC North Division.
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The Hilltopper volleyball team rank 1st in the Mountain East Conference for blocks (2.07 AVG/S)
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Middle blocker/right side hitter Liv McAtee is 31 kills from surpassing 500 career kills
BARRY (FLA.) STORYLINES:
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The Buccaneers were picked 7th in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Coaches poll
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Barry (Fla) finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 11-18 and 5-15 in league play
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In his second stint as Buccaneers Head Coach, Leonid Yelin holds a 39-24 record and guided the Bucs to an NCAA Division II South Region Championship in 20222
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Barry (Fla.) is on a three match win streak to open up the 2024 season
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The Buccaneers swept all three opponents, 3-0 at the Barry (Fla.) University Invitational last weekend
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Barry women's volleyball student-athlete Diana Akopova was tabbed SSC Offensive Player of the week (September 2-8, 2024)
PALM BEACH ATLANTIC (FLA.) STORYLINES:
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The Sailfish were picked 9th in the SSC Preseason Coaches Poll
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Palm Beach Atlanitic finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 13-16 and 7-13 in league play
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The Sailfish are 1-2 overall through three matches during the 2024 season
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Palm Beach Atlantic lost their first two matches against Augusta and nationally-ranked Lewis, 1-3 and 0-3
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Junior Sailfish Harper Stokes was named SSC Defensive Player of the week
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Harper tallied five blocks and 10 kills in a four-set loss in the season opener to Augusta
LYNN (FLA.) STORYLINES:
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Lynn University (Fla.) finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 26-8 and 15-5 in league play.
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The Fighting Knights 2023 postseason run came to a close in the NCAA Division II South Region Championship. No.1 seeded Tampa defeated Lynn in straight sets that evening
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Fighting Knights head coach Adam Milewski enters 9th season at the helm of the Lynn volleyball program
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Coach Milewski has tallied 148 wins overall, 86 SSC victories and six NCAA Division II tournament bids
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The Fighting Knights are ranked No. 22 in the AVCA Top 25 poll
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Lynn has started the season off with four straight wins
UP NEXT:
Following the Florida trip, WLU comes home to the friendly confines of the Academic, Sports and Recreation Complex for their home opening match against Ursuline next Tuesday evening. First serve between the Arrows and Hilltoppers is set for 7:00 p.m.
