Concord Set for Two Matches in State's Northern Panhandle

Concord Stats - Wheeling Stats - West Liberty Stats - Live Stats - Live Video

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University volleyball team travels to Wheeling 5:00 p.m. Friday and West Liberty 11:00 a.m. Saturday in a two-match Mountain East Conference road trip.

LIVE COVERAGE
The host schools will have live in-game statistics and live streaming video this weekend.

Live Stats
Live Video

SERIES HISTORY vs. Wheeling: WU leads 29-0
SERIES HISTORY vs. West Liberty: WLU leads 16-2

LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST WHEELING
October 15, 2021: Wheeling 3 – Concord 0 (Athens, W.Va.)
November 15, 2021: Wheeling 3 – Concord 0 (Athens, W.Va.)
October 27, 2018: Wheeling 3 – Concord 0 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
November 3, 2017: Wheeling 3 – Concord 0 (Athens, W.Va.)
September 30, 2016: Wheeling 3 – Concord 0 (Athens, W.Va.)

LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST WEST LIBERTY
October 16, 2021: West Liberty 3 – Concord 1 (Athens, W.Va.)
November 16, 2019: West Liberty 3 – Concord 0 (Athens, W.Va.)
October 26, 2018: West Liberty 3 – Concord 0 (West Liberty, W.Va.)
November 3, 2017: Concord 3 – West Liberty 1 (Athens, W.Va.)
October 25, 2016: West Liberty 3 – Concord 0 (West Liberty, W.Va.)

CONCORD AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 6-14
MEC Record: 0-5
Home Record: 4-5
Away Record: 1-3
Neutral Record: 1-6

OPPORTUNITY AWAITS
The Mountain Lions face Wheeling Friday night who has won 10 consecutive contests ahead of the matchup. However, Wheeling is allowing teams to hit .194, 10^th in the MEC. Concord is coming off playing one of the best defenses in the conference in Glenville State who is holding opponents to .110, third best in the MEC. Senior middle hitter Amber Hall leads Concord in hitting percentage with a .228 clip while sophomore outside hitter Hannah Steele is swinging at .176. Junior middle hitter Kyndra Pilant who grew up 35 miles from Wheeling has hit .250 or better in her last three matches.

ALL THE WAY TO THE END
Concord and West Liberty battled to a four-set decision last season at the Carter Center with WLU winning. The first two sets were decided by four total points, 25-23 and 30-28. Hall had one of her best matches in a CU jersey with 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .706. Steele added 12 more kills and 12 digs. Junior setter Kristin Lough just missed a double-double of 16 assists and nine digs. Graduate defensive specialist Kelli Ellison threw in 21 digs. The 58 points scored in the second game between CU and West Liberty was the second-longest set for CU last season, trailing only a 34-32 game versus West Virginia Wesleyan.

STELLAR SETTERS
Friday's match features two of the best setters in the MEC, a veteran in Wheeling's Karly Niesen and Concord freshman Kenzee Chaffin. Niesen leads the MEC in assists per game (11.5) which is also fourth in Division II. Meanwhile, Chaffin's 7.06 assists per set is among the best for freshmen setters in Division II. Chaffin ranks 20^th among first-year players in assists as she stands 22 assists away from 500 for the season. Within the conference, she is fifth in assists per game.

WHEELING AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 12-6
MEC Record: 5-0
Home Record: 7-1
Away Record: 3-2
Neutral Record: 2-3

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
During its 10-game winning streak, Wheeling has only dropped four sets. Pilant's former high school teammate at Magnolia, Mady Winters, has the second-best hitting percentage in the MEC at .382. Allonda Watkins is swinging at .380 this fall. Tylah Yeomans is notching 3.78 kills per set. Also during the winning streak, Wheeling has hit .250 or better seven times.

WEST LIBERTY AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 12-8
MEC Record: 2-3
Home Record: 6-2
Away Record: 3-3
Neutral Record: 3-3

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
The most recent match for WLU was a three-set defeat to Wheeling. Half of the wins this season for West Liberty have come at home. Four different players are averaging at least two kills per set led by Riley Cudnik's 2.36. Ruby Countryman is second on the team in kills (2.32) and first in blocks (1.03). Haley Zeck distributes 6.03 assists per game. Beginning Friday night with Glenville State, five of the next matches for WLU are at home.