WHEELING, W.Va. (Dec. 6) – The Wheeling University volleyball team advanced to the NCAA Atlantic Regional Final for the ninth-straight season with a 3-0 win over No. 5 seed Millersville Friday night inside the McDonough Center.
 
The Cardinals will take on No. 2 seed Gannon tomorrow, Saturday, December 7 at 5 p.m. for a spot in the NCAA Elite Eight. Wheeling and Gannon will meet for the first-time since 2017, when the Golden Knights earned a 3-0 win in the region final.
 
THE RUNDOWN

• Final Score: Wheeling 3, Millersville 0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-16)
• Records: Wheeling (33-3) | Millersville (26-9)
• Location: McDonough Center – Wheeling, West Virginia

TEAM LEADERS

• Senior Stephanie Sylvester (Oregon, Ohio/St. Ursula Academy) tossed around 42 assists and helped four players post nine or more kills on the evening.
• Junior Cassie Meyer (Jackson Center, Ohio/Jackson Center) led the Cardinals in kills with 13 on 29 attacks (.345 hitting percentage).
• She also added 11 digs defensively for a kill-dig double-double.
• Junior Breanna Kramer (Norwalk, Ohio/Monroeville) also posted a double-double with 10 kills (.320) and 14 digs.
• Sophomore Allonda Watkins (Beachwood, Ohio/Beachwood) recorded 10 kills on 16 attacks (.563) in the win.
• Senior Haley Kramer (Norwalk, Ohio/Monroeville) mixed in nine kills and finished with six blocks defensively.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first set had multiple momentum swings. Wheeling opening up a 7-3 lead, but found itself trailing 13-12.
• After trading the lead two more times, the Cardinals found themselves tied with Millersville at 21-21.
• A kill by Haley Kramer, a crafty attack for a kill by Sylvester, and a pair of errors by the Marauders allowed Wheeling to take the first set at 25-22.
• The Cardinals raced out to a 9-2 lead in the second set, but a spurt by Millersville made the score 16-12 midway through the set.
• Wheeling went on a tear to close out the set on a 9-3 run to secure a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Millersville held a 6-3 advantage early in the third set, but a surge by the Cardinals pushed them ahead 10-7 and forced a Marauders timeout.
• Millersville managed to get back within one, 14-13, but seven-straight points by Wheeling put the match away and helped the team advance with a three-set sweep.
• Wheeling limited Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Player of the Year Jayci Suseland to eight kills on 28 attacks (.036) and forced her into seven errors in the match.

QUOTEABLE

• "I'm excited and glad to be back in the finals. We came out strong and our student-athletes executed everything we had talked about. I'm so proud of them." 
  • – Head Coach Christy Benner on the win.

 UP NEXT

• Wheeling will take on Gannon in a re-match of the 2017 Atlantic Regional Championship Match in the McDonough Center at 5 p.m.
• Gannon advanced to the final with a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Shepherd in the first semifinal of the night.
• In 2017, Gannon prevailed 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-17) to end the Cardinals season that year.