Concord Faces Off Against West Liberty in MEC Quarterfinals

MEC Volleyball Championship Central - Tickets

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University volleyball team meets West Liberty in the first round of the Mountain East Conference Volleyball Tournament beginning at 7:30 p.m. Thursday inside the Walker Convocation Center in Institute, W.Va.
 
TICKETS
Tickets will be sold through the MEC's HomeTown Ticketing box office through this link. Tickets will be sold separately for each day of the tournament. Ticket prices are as follows:
$10 - Adults
$5 - Seniors (Age 65 and up)
$5 - Youth (Age 12 and under)
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The West Virginia State Sports Information Department will provide live video and statistics for the entirety of the Mountain East Conference Volleyball Championship.
 
LIVE VIDEO
 
LIVE STATS
 
SERIES HISTORY
WLU leads the all-time series 18-2.
 
LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST WEST LIBERTY
October 21, 2023: West Liberty 3 – Concord 1 (Athens, W.Va.)
October 8, 2022: West Liberty 3 – Concord 0 (West Liberty, W.Va.)
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.)
 
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2023 Record: 16-14
MEC Record: 6-9 (Third MEC South)
Home Record: 6-6
Away Record:  5-7
Neutral Record: 5-1
 
KILLER CAMPAIGN
Concord finishes its regular season with a 16-14 record, the first winning season since 2016 when the Mountain Lions went 17-16. With this milestone, CU has also set another mark this season. In the 2023 campaign, Concord totaled 1,245 kills across 30 games, the most in a season since 2017. The Mountain Lions also finished the regular season with a .180 team hitting percentage, the highest since the 2021 team that ended its season with a .180 hitting percentage. Freshman Meg Williams is fifth in the MEC in kills per set (3.59) and sits fifth in program history for kills in a season (388). Freshman outside hitter Chloe Thompson also swung for more than 300 kills as she picked up 318. Senior middle hitter Kyndra Pilant had the highest hitting percentage among qualified players as she posted a .250 hitting percentage with 214 kills. Other top contributors include freshman right side Natalie Brown (148 kills) and senior middle hitter Csayjah Whitelow (87 kills).
 
PAIR OF ACES
Freshman setter Paige Richmond has served herself into the top 20 nationally in aces per set in her first season in the Maroon and Grey. Richmond has picked up 61 service aces this season, ranking her third in the MEC in aces per set (0.56) and cracking the top 20 in Division II at 19th. Richmond tied a program record of eight service aces in a match against Glenville State earlier this October. Richmond's eight-ace performance ties her for the most in a single match in the conference this season. Freshman setter Declyn Tooze has 43 service aces this season, tying her for ninth in the MEC at 0.40 aces per set. Tooze has logged seven games with three aces this season and recorded her career-high of four aces against King in the Carter Center.
 
PREVIOUS MATCHUPS
Concord took the first set from the Hilltoppers when the teams met earlier this season in the Carter Center. However, West Liberty took the final three sets en route to a 3-1 victory. Pilant led the Mountain Lions with 11 kills on a .429 hitting percentage. As a team, CU served nine aces and collected seven total blocks. Richmond and Tooze accounted for three service aces each. Whitelow assisted on four blocks, while Pilant and Brown finished with three assisted blocks. Freshman defensive specialist Allie Davis hauled in a team-high 13 digs.
 
WEST LIBERTY AT A GLANCE
2023 Record: 22-8
MEC Record: 10-4 (Second MEC North)
Home Record: 9-4
Away Record:  8-3
Neutral Record: 5-1
 
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
Three Hilltoppers amassed double-digit kills when CU and WLU met earlier this season. Senior outside hitter Katelynn Fritz smashed 17 kills, while junior outside hitter Leah Driscoll and sophomore middle hitter Liv McAtee racked up 12 kills each with all three players posting a hitting percentage north of .250 in the match. Additionally, freshman setter Dakoda Keni had 38 assists, 12 digs, and two aces in the contest. Keni is 56 assists away from reaching 1,000 assists on the season. Junior libero Nyia Setla is second in the MEC in digs per set (5.03) and is tied for first on the team in aces (37). West Liberty is squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, as it was ranked eighth in the latest Atlantic Regional Rankings.