Concord Opens MEC Slate At Home Versus West Virginia State, West Virginia Wesleyan

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ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University volleyball team opens up Mountain East Conference play with a pair of home matches 7:00 p.m. Tuesday against West Virginia State and 7:00 p.m. Friday versus West Virginia Wesleyan inside the Carter Center.

LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will have live streaming video and live statistics for the week's matches.

Live Stats
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SERIES HISTORY vs. West Virginia State: Concord leads 24-22
SERIES HISTORY vs. West Virginia Wesleyan: Wesleyan leads 26-9

LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST WEST VIRGINIA STATE
October 26, 2021: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 0 (Athens, W.Va.)
September 28, 2021: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 0 (Institute, W.Va.)
February 23, 2021: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 1 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 5, 2021: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 0 (Institute, W.Va.)
November 5, 2019: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 0 (Athens, W.Va.)

LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN
November 2, 2021: Concord 3 – West Virginia Wesleyan 0 (Athens, W.Va.)
October 1, 2021: West Virginia Wesleyan 3 – Concord 1 (Buckhannon, W.Va.)
March 2, 2021: West Virginia Wesleyan 3 – Concord 1 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 9, 2021: West Virginia Wesleyan 3 – Concord 0 (Buckhannon, W.Va.)
November 1, 2019: Concord 3 – West Virginia Wesleyan 2 (Buckhannon, W.Va.)

CONCORD AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 6-9
Home Record: 4-2
Away Record: 1-1
Neutral Record: 1-6

SECURING A SWEEP
CU not only swept West Virginia Tech in three sets Wednesday, but the Mountain Lions won both regular-season meetings from the Golden Bears. In just three sets, sophomore outside hitter Hannah Steele collected 17 kills and hit .359. Steele begins the week 34 kills shy of 500, having only played 41 career matches. Junior setter Kristin Lough had her first career double-double (16 assists, 10 digs). She becomes the fifth active player with at least one career double-double. The .245 hitting percentage versus WVU Tech was the third highest of the season.

AMONG THE LEADERS
Tuesday's matchup with be a showcase of two of the top attackers in the MEC with Steele and West Virginia State's Diamon'Nique Young going head-to-head. Young is averaging just 3.55 kills per set and ranks fifth in the conference while Steele's 3.06 kills per set are eighth. Young's hitting percentage of .449 is nearly 100 points better than second place in the MEC. Meanwhile, senior middle hitter Amber Hall is just outside the top 10 in the MEC at .296. WVSU's Natalie Beer (.327) is sixth in the MEC in swing percentage.

SECURING A CONFERENCE SWEEP
Last fall, in early November, the Mountain Lions snapped a brief three-match losing streak against West Virginia Wesleyan with a win at home in three sets. It was the first time CU downed the Bobcats since November 2019, and the first time sweeping Wesleyan in five seasons. After Concord cruised to a 2-0 lead in the match, the third set went 66 points before the Mountain Lions finally won 34-32. Fifth-year senior defensive Kelli Ellison collected 27 digs, and sophomore defensive specialist Kaylee Spees was crucial with 10 more digs and four service aces. CU also forced WVWC to hit negative for the match (-.031).

WEST VIRGINIA STATE AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 12-1
Home Record: 2-2
Away Record: 1-0
Neutral Record: 9-1

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
Not only has West Virginia State only lost one match this season, the Yellow Jackets have only dropped five sets this season with three coming in a defeat against Limestone. WVSU will have a non-conference home match with Bluefield State Monday before visiting CU Tuesday. With the surplus of offense around them, Brooke Smith (5.0) and Peri Martin (4.9) are both averaging five assists per set. Young is averaging a block per set.

WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 4-9
Home Record: 3-1
Away Record: 1-3
Neutral Record: 0-5

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Hope Acre-Reed (124) and Mya Bajramovic (117) both are over 100 kills for the season. Wesleyan won three of four matches in its home tournament this past weekend as it grabbed victories over Glenville State, Kentucky State and WVU Tech. Acre-Reed had 12 kills and hit .375 in WVWC's win over Concord last season, but was held without a kill and hit -.200 at the Carter Center.