Raiders begin 2023 this weekend in Louisville

Friday, August 25

Louisville, KY / L&N Federal Credit Union Arena

4 PM

Wright State University

Washington State

Photo by: Alex Underwood

8/24/2023 2:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Live Stats (Friday)Live Stats (Saturday)

DAYTON — The Wright State volleyball team opens its 2023 campaign this weekend with three matches in the Cardinal Classic in Louisville. The Raiders kick off the year on Friday against Washington State before a Saturday meeting with Troy, with both of those matches set for 4 p.m. starts. The weekend concludes on Sunday as Wright State takes on tournament host Louisville at 2 p.m. Sunday's match can be seen on ACC Network Extra.

MATCH INFORMATION
Friday, August 25 - vs. Washington State - 4 p.m. - Live Stats
Saturday, August 26 - vs. Troy - 4 p.m. - Live Stats
Sunday, August 27 - at Louisville - 2 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats

SINCE OUR LAST TIME OUT
Wright State will look different when it takes the floor for its first action of 2023 this weekend in several ways. The Raiders will play without program stalwarts Lainey Stephenson and Jenna Story for the first time since 2017. Story captured four straight Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year honors in her five-year career while Stephenson was a two-time HL Setter of the Year. The Raiders return Taylor Bransfield and Callie Martin, who joined Stephenson and Story as first team performers last fall, along with Aaliyah Byers (HL All-Freshman Team). Bransfield and Martin are part of a solid upperclassmen nucleus along with Megan Alders, Katie Meyer and Sam Ott.

LONG ROAD FROM HERE
Wright State has played in three of the last four NCAA Championships, seeing their season schedule stretch from August through December in the two 'normal' seasons, while the COVID-altered Spring 2021 schedule still saw the Raiders log four months of action from late January through the postseason in mid-April.

CARDINAL CLASSIC
Wright State will meet Washington State for the first time in program history to kick off the 2023 campaign, while the Raiders and Troy will square off for the seventh time overall but first since 2012. Wright State holds a 6-2 all-time series advantage over Louisville, but this will be the first meeting between the two sides since the 2010 campaign.

KNOW THE FOES
- Washington State had a strong showing in its 2022 season, compiling a 23-10 record and a 14-6 record in Pac-12 play. The Cougars defeated UNLV in the first round of the NCAA tournament before falling to San Diego in the second round. This year will be the first all-time meeting between the Raiders and the Cougars.
- Troy finished its 2022 campaign with a record of 18-13, which included an 11-5 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans were invited to the NIVC where they fell to UT Martin to end their season. The Raiders hold the edge in the all-time series, 5-1.
- Louisville finished as the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball runner-up, compiling a 31-3 overall record and a 17-1 record in ACC play. The Cardinals fell to Texas in the NCAA Championship Match last season. The Raiders a 6-2 edge over the Cardinals in the eight all-time matches between the two teams.

ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS
Wright State posted a perfect 18-0 record in HL play last fall to capture its third regular season title in the last four seasons. The Raiders closed the regular season by winning 21 straight matches overall. This marks just the fourth time in Horizon League history that a team finished the regular season with three losses or less, with the Raiders joining Milwaukee (1999 and 2007) and Wright State from the Spring 2021 shortened season. The Raiders now have the only two undefeated League seasons in Horizon League history (Spring 2021 and 2022).

NATIONAL MARKS
Wright State ended the 2022 season No. 7 nationally as a team with a 17.33 digs/set mark, while the Raiders' 2,062 team digs were the 16th-most in the NCAA last year. Defensively, Wright State held opponents to a 0.159 hitting percentage, the 11th-best nationally.