WISE, Va. – After a very tightly contested, narrow five-set win over the University of Charleston in Wise Tuesday night to open up Mountain East Conference play, the UVa-Wise women's volleyball team is set to face another league opponent in West Virginia State Friday. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center.
 
The Cavaliers (5-6, 1-0 MEC) will try to begin MEC play 2-0 for the first time since joining the league in 2013 when they take on the Yellow Jackets (3-6, 0-0 MEC) tomorrow night.
 
UVa-Wise won its second game in a row Tuesday night and its fourth consecutive home game spanning back to last year by defeating Charleston 3-2 (25-21, 25-16, 20-25, 17-25, 16-14). The Cavs have not lost a match in Wise and at the Prior Center since falling to nationally ranked Wheeling Jesuit on Oct. 24, 2014.
 
Last year the Cavs swept West Virginia State 3-0 at home before falling to the Yellow Jackets on the road in a five-set match. West Virginia State was picked to finish 11th in the MEC preseason poll by a vote of the league's head coaches.
 
The Yellow Jackets come to Wise on a five-game losing streak after beginning the season 3-1 with wins over Elizabeth City State University, St. Augustine's University and Winston-Salem State University. The Cavs and West Virginia State have not played any common opponents this season.
 
The Cavs enter Friday's match having made 497 total kills (11.8 per set) with a team attack percentage of .194. UVa-Wise has recorded 629 total digs (15 per set) and tallied 471 total assists (11.2). Opponents have recorded 494 total kills (11.8 per set) and have hit .173 on the Cavs this season.
 
Junior outside hitter Karley Allen continues to lead the Cavs with 182 kills recorded this year (4.33 per set) and is only 38 kills away from becoming just the fourth Cav to ever reach 1,000 kills in her career. Allen holds an attack percentage of .227 and has also recorded a team-high 147 digs this season (3.50 per set) and 11 aces.
 
Freshman setter Chandler Rouse has tallied 310 assists in 11 match starts this season, averaging 9.39 assists per set. Junior libero Erin Lee is coming off of a career-high 29 digs Tuesday night and has made 133 digs on the year (3.17 per set).
 
Junior middle blocker Lindsey Tucker will look to continue her fine play having recorded 83 kills on the year (2.08 per set) with a team-leading attack percentage of .278. Freshman Ciara Kain has also been strong in her first season contributing 85 kills through 11 matches at 2.43 per set.
 
West Virginia State enters Friday's contest with 292 total kills on the season (9.48 per set) and an attack percentage of .145. The Yellow Jackets have made 380 total digs this year (12.33 per set) and 262 total assists (8.7 per set), while giving up 351 total kills (11.3 per set) and allowing opponents to hit .173.
 
The Yellow Jackets are led on offense by Allison Tumey who has recorded 49 kills on the year and is hitting .218, followed closely by Kendra Benson with 48 kills and an attack percentage of .282. Brooke Cieslewski leads West Virginia State defensively with 90 digs this season as both Mallory Rennard and Brenna Baker have dished 98 assists.
 
Following tomorrow night's match the Cavs will step out of conference play and travel to Richmond, Virginia, to take on Virginia State Tuesday at 6 p.m.
 
Admission to all home volleyball matches this season is free for everybody.
 
Both live streaming video and live stats for tomorrow night's match can be found by clicking the links at the top and also by visiting the 2015 women's volleyball schedule on uvawisecavs.com. Viewers can watch the live stream in HD format for a charge of $5.