GLENVILLE, W.Va. - Glenville State Volleyball will welcome two teams atop the Northern Division standings this weekend when they host West Liberty tomorrow (Oct. 20) and Wheeling on Saturday (Oct. 21).
COACHES SHOW
Listen to this week's Coaches Show with Kiara Perkins (10:20-16:25) on YouTube!
GAME INFORMATION
Friday (Oct. 20)
Glenville State vs West Liberty | 7 p.m.
Watch on MEC.TV | Live Stats
Saturday (Oct. 21)
Glenville State vs Wheeling | 2 p.m.
Watch on MEC.TV | Live Stats
THE OPPONENTS
WEST LIBERTY
The Hilltoppers enter (16-6, 5-2 MEC) after handing out a pair of clean sweeps to Davis & Elkins and West Virginia Wesleyan last week. WLU currently sits in second in the North, one game behind Wheeling.
Riley Jarrett is in her fourth season at the helm of the West Liberty Volleyball program. After falling one win shy of their first-ever NCAA Regional birth in 2021, Jarrett led the Hilltoppers to the NCAA Atlantic Regional in 2022. The 2021 and 2022 seasons were also years that saw WLU win 21 games in back-to-back seasons and also capture 10 conference victories in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history. Prior to West Liberty, Jarrett was the lead assistant for the men's and women's programs at Penn-State-Behrend.
Katelyn Fritz is over 200 kills this season with 220 to lead the team. There are three other Hilltoppers with at least 100 kills as well. Setter Dakoda Keni ranks third in the MEC in assists with 655. Nyia Setla has accumulated 420 digs to lead WLU by a wide margin. The closest Hilltopper is Fritz with 241.
WHEELING
The Cardinals come in (15-6, 6-1 MEC) and are riding a seven-game winning streak, previously sweeping Davis & Elkins and Shepherd last week.
Christy Benner is in her 22nd year leading Wheeling Volleyball. Benner has built WU into a volleyball powerhouse both regionally and nationally. Nearing 700 victories, Benner has accomplished 10-straight MEC Championships, 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, seven Atlantic Regional titles, seven Elite Eight appearances, two Final Fours and one National Championship (2015). At one point, Wheeling had an incredible string of 219-straight conference wins dating back to the WVIAC days that was eventually snapped by Fairmont State in 2021.
Tylah Yeomans is one of two Cardinals with over 200 kills this season, racking up a team leading 270. Riley Kindall is the other with 245 kills. The MEC leader in assists is Karly Niesen, who is all the way up to 839 assists. Niesen is sixth in the country as well. Kindall is also atop the team lead in digs with 254.
THE PIONEERS
GLENVILLE STATE
The Pioneers enter the weekend (9-12, 2-5 MEC), coming off a four-game week where they went 2-2 with wins over Bluefield State and Salem.
Katarzyna Niderla won Female Pioneer of the Week, totaling 45 kills last week. On the season, she is right at 200 kills. Rita Kelly is second on the team in kills with 151. Sarah Grainger's 571 assists puts her 4th in the conference. Defensively, Lindsay Winkler now has 234 digs and Niderla has recorded 80 blocks.
Fans can follow Glenville State Volleyball on Twitter (X) @GSU_VB, Instagram @GSU_VOLLEYBALL and liking 'Glenville State University Volleyball' on Facebook for news and score updates plus many more all season long.
