WISE, Va. – The UVa-Wise volleyball team will begin its 2016 campaign the first weekend of September with the Cavaliers featuring six seniors. A squad that finished fourth in the Mountain East Conference a year ago, the Cavs are looking to improve upon last season's accomplishments.
 
Last year UVa-Wise won 15 matches for the most wins in a single season since 2007 when the Cavs advanced all the way to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship after winning the NAIA Region XII title. This season, UVa-Wise will try to top their 2015 overall record of 15-17 and improve upon the 10-6 MEC mark they posted, attempting to reach the .500 mark for just the second time since 2007. The Cavs will look to continue their home court success that has seen UVa-Wise go 16-6 on campus the past two years. A season ago, the Cavs took a set off of eventual NCAA national champion Wheeling Jesuit University in the David J. Prior Convocation Center with a 25-23 set two win. It was only one of two sets the Cardinals lost all season against MEC and NCAA Division II Atlantic Region opponents.
 
The Team
 
UVa-Wise's experienced senior class will lead the Cavs this season with outside hitter Karley Allen (Lanexa, Va.), middle blockers Lindsey Tucker (Midlothian, Va.) and Santana Bishop (Gate City, Va.), libero Erin Lee (Fincastle, Va.), defensive specialist Erin Anderson (Richmond, Va.) and right side hitter Simona Zduoba (Boyce, Va.) taking charge. The Cavs also return junior outside hitter Samantha Edge (Roanoke, Va.) and sophomores Amanda Auxier (Midlothian, Va.), Ciara Kain (Leesburg, Va.), Sierra Gardner (Rocky Mount, Va.), Eustaica Smith (Dugspur, Va.) and Kyra Jessee (Weber City, Va.). Along with the 12 letter winners returning, UVa-Wise welcomes three freshman in setters Caitlynn Doss (Abingdon, Va.) and Morgan Milligan (Bridgewater, Va.) and libero Briana Kerr (Virginia Beach, Va.).
 
The Cavs return all but one starter from their 2015 campaign and lose only one other letter winner to graduation in outside hitter Kelsey Smith. Despite not having its starting setter from last season, UVa-Wise welcomes back Allen, Tucker, Bishop, Lee, Anderson, right side hitter Auxier and outside hitter Kain to the starting rotation, while Zduoba also saw time in the starting lineup a year ago.
 
Allen looks to have one of the best individual seasons in the entire nation in her final year as a Cav after an extremely impressive junior year. The outside hitter became the first player in UVa-Wise history to reach the 1,000 career mark in both digs and kills last season. A two-time All-MEC First-Team performer and three-time All-MEC honoree, Allen led the league a season ago in five offensive categories including total kills (535), kills per set (4.31), total attacks (1,549), points per set (4.85) and attacks per set (12.49), not to mention finishing third in the MEC in service aces (43) and total digs (495). In 2015, Allen was also named NCAA Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (CCA) All-Atlantic Region First Team, American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Atlantic Region honorable mention and Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) College Division All-State Second Team after ranking top 12 nationally in total attacks, total kills, attacks per set, kills per set and points per set. Allen is currently third all-time on UVa-Wise's career kills list (1,290) and fourth in school history in career digs (1,130).
 
After a standout freshman year, Auxier will try to improve upon her accomplishments in her second year as a Cav. Named to the 2015 MEC All-Freshman Team and earning All-MEC honorable mention accolades, Auxier finished last season with the 10th-most blocks in the MEC (82) and was also 10th in the league in blocks per set (0.73). The right side hitter led UVa-Wise with 10 solo blocks and was second on the team in total blocks and block assists (72). Auxier had the third-most kills (240) and total attacks (673) for the Cavs in her rookie season, while her 2.12 kills per set was fourth-best. Like Auxier, Kain had a breakout season in her first year as a Cav. The outside hitter finished 2015 second on the team in kills (257) and total attacks (828), and third in kills per set (2.29).
 
Having her season cut short due to injury a year ago, Tucker looks to rebound and end her UVa-Wise career on a high note. Only playing in 20 matches last season, Tucker had the best attack percentage (.314) on the team and sixth-best in the MEC. The middle blocker recorded 164 total kills (2.31 per set) and made 33 blocks in only 71 sets played as a junior.
 
Bishop, Anderson and Lee enter their final season as Cavs after each played a huge role in UVa-Wise's success in 2015. A middle blocker, Bishop led the team in total blocks (91) last season and had the fifth-most kills (149). Defensive specialist Anderson and libero Lee were both stalwarts defensively for the Cavs last year. Anderson tallied the second-most digs (393) for UVa-Wise and averaged 3.74 digs per set, while Lee made 346 digs for the season and earned 2.79 digs per set. The two also combined for 56 of the Cavs' 168 service aces.
 
"This group of seniors is special and have worked diligently to try to make a difference in this program since they started", remarked Head Coach Kristen Salyer. "I look for them to play a huge role in our leadership and the success we hope to achieve this season. I'm looking forward to getting this team on the court and seeing what we can accomplish this year", coach Salyer continued.
 
The Coaches
 
Coach Salyer enters her fifth season guiding the Cavs after recording the most wins in a single season last year since taking over the program in 2012. The former outside hitter and UVa-Wise standout has improved the Cavs' win total for three consecutive seasons and did so in 2015 without any assistant coaches.
 
On June 1 coach Salyer announced the hiring of Assistant Coach Taylor Fink, who came to the College after serving as the junior varsity head coach and assistant varsity coach at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee. A native of Kingsport, Tennessee, Fink is a 2015 graduate of Bryan College where she was an exceptional setter, three-time NAIA All-American and 2014 Appalachian Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
 
The Schedule
 
A challenging slate of non-conference matches away from home awaits the Cavs this fall before UVa-Wise takes on a competitive MEC schedule. Only one non-conference home match is on this year's schedule as the Cavs participate in three early tournaments the first three weekends of September. UVa-Wise will compete in the King University Tournament in Bristol, Tennessee, Sept. 2-3, the Shippensburg University Raider Classic in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, Sept. 9-10 and the West Liberty University/WJU Tournament in West Liberty, West Virginia, Sept. 16-17.
 
The Cavs will face two NCAA tournament teams from a year ago in non-conference play, taking on Shippensburg on the road Friday, Sept. 9 and Clarion University in a neutral site match Friday, Sept. 16. Shippensburg claimed the 2015 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament title and advanced to the NCAA tournament en route to a 30-win season, while Clarion was the PSAC tournament runner-up and earned an at-large NCAA tournament berth where the Golden Eagles defeated Edinboro University in the first round.
 
In league play, UVa-Wise will have challenging tests against defending NCAA Division II National Champion and AVCA preseason No. 2 Wheeling Jesuit and Fairmont State University. The Cavs travel to Wheeling, West Virginia, Friday, Oct. 28 to take on the Lady Cardinals before welcoming the Fighting Falcons to the Prior Center on Friday, Nov. 11. Fairmont State collected 25 wins last season and reached the MEC tournament championship match after finishing second in the league.
 
The Cavs' home opener will be Tuesday, Sept. 13 when UVa-Wise hosts Lees-McRae College at 7 p.m. MEC play for the Cavs will begin on Friday, Sept. 23 with a trip to Institute, West Virginia, for a 7 p.m. match at West Virginia State. The top eight teams from the regular season will advance to the 2016 MEC Tournament, which will be held Nov. 17-19 and will be hosted by the top seed.
 
"I expect the MEC to be very competitive this year and we have a strong non-conference schedule as well", commented coach Salyer. "We want to continue to build and improve off of the things we accomplished last year."
 
UVa-Wise opens the 2016 season against Newberry College Friday, Sept. 2 at 10 a.m. in Bristol, Tennessee, followed by a contest versus Lincoln Memorial University that afternoon at 3 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 3, UVa-Wise will take on Shorter University at 10 a.m. before wrapping up the weekend against Tusculum College at 3 p.m.
 
Visit uvawisecavs.com for all Cavalier volleyball news, statistics, complete schedule and more. Follow the Cavs and UVa-Wise volleyball throughout the season on social media for up to date information, scores and more via Twitter (@UVaWiseCavs/@UVaWiseVball), Facebook (Highland Cavalier Athletics) and Instagram (@uvawisecavs/@uvawisevolleyball).