ASHLAND, Ohio – The West Liberty University volleyball team opened its 2025 season with a split on Friday at the Ashland Tournament, sweeping Ursuline in the opener before dropping a hard-fought four-set match to Daemen in the nightcap.

In the first match, the Hilltoppers (1-1) rolled to a 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-22, 25-14) over Ursuline behind a balanced offensive effort. Ashley Cudnik led the way with a match-high 12 kills and added 12 digs for a double-double. Grace Hill and Liv McAtee chipped in 8 kills each, while setter Dakoda Keni dished out 21 assists. Defensively, West Liberty out-dug the Arrows 44-35 with Bella Dart picking up 11 digs and Hill adding 3 blocks at the net.

West Liberty hit .191 as a team while holding Ursuline to just .051 on the attack.

The Hilltoppers carried that momentum into their second match but fell just short against Daemen, 3-1 (25-16, 25-21, 15-25, 25-23). After dropping the first two sets, WLU stormed back in the third behind strong net play, highlighted by Grace Hill's 8 blocks and Adrienne Staib's 5 blocks. The Black and Gold nearly forced a decisive fifth set, but Daemen held on late in the fourth.

Kyia White paced West Liberty with 10 kills and 10 digs, while Dart (11 digs) and Keni (22 assists, 4 blocks) turned in solid all-around performances.

For the day, the Hilltoppers finished with 78 kills across the two matches, led by Cudnik (17) and White (15). Hill anchored the front line with 11 total blocks, and Dart led the back row with 22 digs.

West Liberty continues tournament play on Saturday with two more matches against IUP and host Ashland.