Institute, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Volleyball team (17-5, 8-1) traveled to Institute, West Virginia, on Friday night to take on West Virginia State. They battled for five sets, going to a win-by-two scenario in the final set, but it wasn't enough as Wheeling fell 3-2 for their first conference loss of the season.

From the start of the first set, it was clear that this was going to be a battle when the team's split the first eight points of the game. Wheeling was the first team to take the advantage when they scored five straight points to take a 9-4 lead in the match. It was a lead Wheeling would continue to hold most of the set, extending their lead to 20-16 late in the set. However, the Yellow Jackets battled back, scoring nine of the next 12 points, and pulled out a 25-23 set one win to take a 1-0 lead. Neither team was successful in getting the offense going as both teams' hitting percentages were under the .150 mark.

In the second set, Wheeling was looking for a bounce-back, and got just that, raising their hitting percentage by almost 300 points. It was two separate runs that gave Wheeling the set win, the first being a 7-0 run that turned a 7-7 tie into a 13-7 Cardinal advantage, and the second being a 7-2 run at the end of the set that brought it to its final score of 25-14. With the match tied at 1-1, both teams were looking for the advantage in the third set. It would be Wheeling who would get that advantage with a 25-23 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Wheeling had West Virginia State on the ropes and was looking to end the match in the fourth set.

After splitting the first few points of the fourth set, as they had done all night long, Wheeling would jump ahead and were holding the lead. They led 20-16 late in the fourth set and were trying to close the door. However, West Virginia State would battle back, and overtook Wheeling for a 25-23 set win that forced a fifth set. Wheeling had a .170 hitting percentage in the set, as the offense couldn't get going. It came down to a fifth and final set as the two top teams in their respective divisions were battling it out.

At the start of the fifth set, it looked like Wheeling was going to walk away with the win, as they led 7-2 early in the set. They extended their lead to 11-4 before the Yellow Jackets battled back. West Virginia State scored an 8-0 run to take their first lead of the set 12-11. The two teams battled to a 14-14 tie that forced a win-by-two scenario. However, it would be West Virginia State that scored the final two points and went on to win the set 16-14 to take the 3-2 win. Wheeling now drops to 8-1 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play with the losses they continue to hold the lead in the MEC North Division.

Freshman Mady Winters continues to hit the ball well and set a new career-high with 19 kills in the game. She now has 36 kills in her last two games as she heats up towards the end of the season. She was one of four Cardinals to finish with double-digit kills on the day as Kayla Bekier (17), Lexi Reinert (16), and Lexi Smith (15). Sophomore Karly Niesen had her biggest game of the season with 65 assists, and Audrey Francis added five assists of her own. On defense, Francis continued her success with 36 digs while Jenna Franks had a career-high 17 digs in the loss.

The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action when they go on the road to face Fairmont State on Tuesday at 7 PM in the Alma Grace McDonough Center.