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WJU Set to Defend Title

Cardinals to take on Lewis University

Photo by Cody Tomer The Wheeling Jesuit volleyball team is set to defend their national championship Thursday when it takes on Lewis University.

WHEELING — For the sixth year in a row, head coach Christy Benner and her Wheeling Jesuit volleyball team are on their way to the state championships, this time to defend a national title.

The Cardinals clinched a birth in the Elite Eight by sweeping their way through the Atlantic Region Tournament with 3-0 victories over Shaw University, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and Edinboro in the Alma Grace McDonough Center.

Benner and the Cards arrived in Sioux Falls, S.D., at 10 p.m. Tuesday night, with a full day to prepare for their contest with Lewis University at 6 p.m.Thursday.

“The girls that we bring in have leadership and are intelligent,” Benner said. “They want to win and continue the tradition of the girls who started the program. When they came in, they set lots of goals.

“We haven’t played Lewis in three years, but they won that match. They are a good team that is well-coached.”

Benner’s squad is coming off a national championship run in 2015 and she believes the experience can be beneficial to this year’s team.

“I do think anytime coming back to a certain venue it helps,” Benner said. “I think we play calm and can overcome adversity.

“I see a few similarities to last year’s team, but we really try to create our own identity this year. We have worked very hard at being our own team but it is a different aspect of a team.”

Seniors Haley Kindall and setter Andrea Thobe were selected to the 2016 Division II Conference Commissioners Association Division II All-American First Team.

Jesuit was the only school with two first-teamers. Kindall and Thobe never lost a conference match in their four-year stint at Wheeling Jesuit, turning in a record of 76-0 in the Mountain East Conference.

Kayce Krucki was rewarded with an All-American Third Team selection after already collecting the 2016 MEC Libero of the Year Award.

Thobe, libero Samantha Obringer, middle blocker Kindall and Krucki all garnered NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional All-Tournament Team honors with their performances leading up to the Elite Eight and Krucki was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, while Kindall was named the Atlantic Region Player of the Year.

Krucki paced the Cards in the regional tournament run with 34 points, 30 kills and 26 digs, Kindall turned in 26.5 points and 22 kills, Thobe dished out 104 assists, gathered 26 digs, and supplied 11 points and six kills and Obringer tallied 42 digs and four assists in the three matches.

“I can’t say enough about these six seniors,” Benner said. “They have done so much for the program. They are great leaders and I want them to go out with a bang.

Jesuit’s victory over Edinboro not only gave the University another Regional Championship Trophy but also gave Benner her 500th career win.

“I haven’t thought about it much,” Benner said. “I didn’t even think I would be around to coach 500 matches. It is an honor and I am very proud of the girls.”

Wheeling Jesuit carries a 41-2 record into the Elite Eight, a 35-match winning streak, a perfect 16-0 conference record, while also not losing a set in its last six matches, dating back to a November 12 3-1 victory over the University of Charleston.

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