West Liberty, W. Va. – Since the start of Mountain East Conference (MEC) play, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (14-4, 5-0) had not lost a set. That changed on Tuesday night as they had to battle but still came through with a five set victory over rival West Liberty.

Coming out of the gate, Wheeling was hot scoring the first five points of the first set, and seven of the first nine points overall to take a 7-2 lead. However, once West Liberty got going they couldn't be stopped as they battled back to tie the game, and ended hp overtaking Wheeling to lead 11-7 halfway through the first set. After the Cardinals momentarily retook a 14-13 lead, West Liberty can't on an 11-2 run to win the set 25-16. They kept that momentum rolling right into the second set, rattling off 16 kills, and putting Wheeling in an early 2-0 hole. With their backs against the wall, it was time for the Cardinals to show they could battle back against a conference opponent.

After posting hitting percentages of .190 and .021 in the first two sets, the normally potent Wheeling hitters were looking to respond. They came back with a vengeance in the third set, scoring 14 of the first 19 points to take an early 14-5 lead in set three, West Liberty battled back to make it as close as five points, but the Cardinals would not relinquish their lead and won the third set 25-16 to bring the match score to 2-1. The fourth set went similarly well for the Cardinals as they got out to a big lead once again, this time 16-5, and went on to win the set 25-13 to tie the match at 2-2.

The biggest difference for Wheeling between the first two sets and the third and fourth set was the job of their hitters. After posting back-to-back subpar performances in the hitting percentage department, the hitters came back with two great showings in the third and fourth set. In the third set, the hitters posted a .370 hitting percentage and followed it up with a .433 hitting percentage in the fourth set. It would come down to a fifth and final set between these two rivals, but this time it would be the defense rather than the offense that shined as neither team posted a hitting percentage over .100.

Both teams had their issues and both teams took advantage of the other's attack errors. Late in the set, the score was tied 11-11, and the teams would be forced to battle to a win-by-two scenario. An attack error gave Wheeling the one point advantage, and brought sophomore Karlee Lois back to the service box. She took the opportunity and scored a service ace that gave Wheeling a 17-15 win and allowed them to win the match 3-2. It preserved their perfect 5-0 conference record and hold on to their one-game lead in the MEC North Division.

Wheeling's offensive attack was led by senior Kayal Bekier, who had a team-high 21 kills in the win. It was a season-high for Bekier, and was one shy of her career-high of 22 which she set last season. Sophomore Karly Niesen returned to the starting lineup as the setter and picked up 50 assists in the win. I'm the defensive side of the ball, senior Audrey Francis led the way with 38 digs and freshman Riley Kindall added 14 digs in the game. Wheeling now improves to 5-0 in MEC play this season, and will have to keep their success going as they play four of their next five games on the road.

The Wheeling University Volleyball team is back in action on Friday when they hit the road to face Concord University with tip-off at 6 PM.