Wheeling, W. Va. - With just three weeks left in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Volleyball regular season, things are heating up as the push for the MEC Tournament is on. On Tuesday, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (15-7, 8-1) begins that push as they host Fairmont State in an MEC North Showdown. Both teams enter Tuesday's game with a 7-1 record in conference play as they battle for the MEC North Division crown.
Last time out, the Cardinals picked up a big bounce back victory as they defeated West Virginia State inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center 3-1. The Cardinals took control of the match early on, with wins in the first two sets by scores of 25-14 and 25-23. They had the lead late in set three, but the Yellow Jackets were able to battle back with a 25-23 set win of their own and forced a fourth set. Wheeling had a 21-16 lead late in the set, but the Yellow Jackets once again fought back to make it a 22-21 set. However, the Cardinals were able to hold on, scoring three of the final five points to pick up a 25-23 set win to give them a 3-1 win in the match.
The girl who ended each set that the Cardinals won with a kill was junior Tylah Yeomans, who led the offense with 20 kills in the match. It was the second time this season that Yeomans has eclipsed the 20 kill mark, and the first time she has accomplished the feat since their August 26th matchup against Central Missouri. Yeomans has established herself as one of the top attackers in the conference this season, sitting third in the MEC with 279 kills and 3.82 kills per set. Add to that a .278 hitting percentage for the season, which ranks just outside the top 10 in the conference as Yeomans continues her career season on offense.
After allowing a near .300 hitting percentage against Charleston the game before, the Wheeling defense was looking to step up and they did just that. West Virginia State hit just .149 in the match on Friday and Wheeling picked up a solid 68 digs in the match. They were led by their Libero Chylyn Pate, who finished with 18 digs on the day. It was her second highest total of the season as she continues to handle her role this season. She currently sits third on the team with 188 digs this season as she continues to build upon her career-high.
As the season comes down to its final three weeks, the Cardinals and Falcons are currently locked in a battle for the top spot in the MEC North Division. Both teams sit at 8-1 through their first nine conference games and each have five more contests remaining. The Cardinals will follow their meeting with the Falcons taking on West Virginia Wesleyan and Davis & Elkins while Fairmont State contends with West Virginia State and Charleston to end the week. The Cardinals are looking to win out over their final six games as they try to earn the right to host this year's MEC Tournament, running November 9th through the 12th.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Falcons will be meeting for the 44th time in program history, with the Cardinals leading the all-time series with a record of 42-1. Earlier this season, the teams met on the road and Wheeling walked away with a 3-1 victory to kick off the conference slate. The Cardinals have never lost a home contest against the Falcons and look to keep that streak alive as they hit the floor on Tuesday night.
In that first meeting of the year, Wheeling won the first two sets, followed by a set three win for the Falcons. Wheeling would finish the match with a 25-22 win that got them started 1-0 in MEC play. Mady Winters led the way in that match with 21 kills while Tylah Yeomans added 15 kills of her own on the evening.
The Details
Tip-off for Tuesday night's match is scheduled for 7 PM inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
