Erie, PA. – The Quarterfinals of the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament kicked off on Friday from Gannon University as the road to Seattle officially began. The Wheeling University Volleyball team (27-7, 15-1) kicked off their tournament run with a battle against #6 Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP).  It was competitive through out the night, but the Cardinals were able to takedown the Crimson Hawks 3-0 to advance to the regional semifinals. The Cardinals offense shined once again, hitting an impressive .429 in the match as they got their tournament run started strong.

The first set of the day saw the Cardinals get out to a fast start as Tylah Yeomans picked up the first two Wheeling kills of the day to spark the offense. Wheeling would end up scoring six of the first seven points of the set and forced an IUP timeout in the early going. The Crimson Hawks responded with a kill following the timeout, but Wheeling went right back on the offensive with a 4-1 run that made it a 10-3 Wheeling advantage. Yeomans continued to be a force throughout the first set, leading the way with six kills in the first set as the Cardinal's lead kept growing. Late in the set, the Cardinals were staked to a 20-10 lead, but IUP continued to fight making it 24-12 as Wheeling set up set point. Lexi Smith would jump up and take a big swing giving Wheeling the 25-12 set one win and a 1-0 lead in the match.

After falling in set one, the Crimson Hawks came out determined in set two and went point for point with Wheeling in the early going. The score would go back and forth throughout the early portion of the set with the score sitting tied or at a one-point advantage for the set's first 21 points until IUP took 12-10 lead at the set's midway point. Allonda Watkins went up for a kill and a block assist saw the set stalemated at 12-12 with both teams looking for a run. IUP once again held a two-point lead before Mady Winters came through with two kills to bring the set even at 16-16. 

Those kills would shift momentum Wheeling's way and a pair of IUP attack errors continued the 5-0 run as Wheeling went ahead 19-16, their biggest lead of the set. Allonda Watkins got the ball back in Wheeling's court as she knocked down a pair of kills to stretch the run to 8-1 in favor of the Cardinals to make it a 21-17 set. Wheeling's blocking game set up set point as Smith and Watkins went up for a pair of Block Assists to make it set point at 24-19, but IUP stayed alive bringing it to 24-21. Watkins would end the set with a kill and Wheeling had to battle but took a 2-0 lead in the match as they looked to sweep the quarterfinal opener.

Watkins was at the center of the offense once again to start set one, slamming down the kill for the first point of the set. The Cardinals offense would score five of the first seven points in the set, and held a 5-2 lead in the early going. However, the Crimson Hawks weren't ready to bite the dust just yet as they battled back and made it a 6-6 set going on a 4-1 run of their own. It was proving to be another competitive set between these two teams and they still sat deadlocked at 10-10 eight points later. IUP got the slight advantage, scoring five of the next eight points and Wheeling would have to battle back. 

They did just that as they went on a 3-1 run that closed the gap to 20-18 late in the set. The Cardinals closed the gap after a pair of Crimson Hawk errors tied the set at 21-21. Karly Niesen went up for a solo block that gave Wheeling their first lead since the match's first point and a Lexi Smith kill brought it to match point at 24-22. IUP kept the match alive with a kill and Karly Niesen ended things with a kill that gave Wheeling the 25-23 set three win and the 3-0 win in the match.

It was a big day for the Cardinal's offense, and it was led by Allonda Watkins's 18 kill effort. Watkins continues her road to 1,000 career kills and now needs 40 to reach the mark. After her strong start, Tylah Yeomans finished with 11 kills in the match and was the only other Cardinal to finish in docile digit kills. Setter Karly Niesen continued her big season, not only leading her team to the .429 hitting percentage, but finishing with 31 assists on the day. The Cardinals defense was led by Melia Gorrell, who finished with 11 digs, while Niesen and Raegan Rosi added six digs of their own in the match. With the Quarterfinal win, the Cardinals advance to the NCAA Atlantic Regional Semifinals where they will face one of two teams they are familiar with.

The Wheeling University Volleyball team will play in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Semifinals on Saturday, November 19th, against either Clarion or West Liberty. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 PM and you can watch the game live HERE or follow along with Live Stats HERE.