Buckhannon, WV -- The Wheeling Cardinals certainly showed why they have the top record in the Mountain East Conference. West Virginia Wesleyan came into this matchup riding the high of their three-set win against Salem, but they could not get their hitting game going against the team averaging the 9th most blocks per set in the nation. That Cardinals defense kept the Lady Bobcats to 35 points in the match. The set scores on Friday night were 25-12, 25-19, and 25-13.

Wesleyan Volleyball drops to 5-12 overall after this one, and they own an MEC record of 2-5. With the win, Wheeling collected their eleventh straight victory, and they still sit atop the conference standings at 6-0 with a 17-3 record in the 2019 season. 

For the Lady Bobcats, Junior Lauryn Antolock led the way on offense with a .316 hitting percentage. Freshman Payton Hefner also had a solid game, collecting 18 assists. Overall, the Lady Bobcats had 32 kills and 31 assists, and on defense they dug out 32 hits. Their downfall on Friday night was the high amount of errors, totaling 24 attack errors and 5 setting errors. 

It was a different story for the Cardinals, and Senior Stephanie Sylvester was fluent in her setup of the hitting game. She ranks fourth in the nation in total assists, and she collected 33 in this one. She was consistently setting up Senior Hayley Kramer and Sophomore Allonda Watkins, who both reached double-digit kills. Hayley Kramer also had 5 solo blocks on defense, playing a well-rounded game and leading the team in multiple categories. 

Luckily for Wesleyan, they get to turn right back around and play West Liberty tomorrow at 1pm in Rockefeller Arena in Buckhannon. The Lady Bobcats need to forget about this one fast and come ready to play a Hilltoppers team that is floating around a similar area of the MEC standings.

The Cardinals might be staying close by tonight, as they make the short trip down Route 33 to Elkins to take on a strong Senators team tomorrow at 3pm. Davis & Elkins is having a strong season in their own right, and they should be able to put up a fight against a Wheeling team that has won 9 straight sets.