Erie, PA. – On Saturday, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (27-8, 15-1) advanced to the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament Semifinals. P unfortunately, they're running the tournament would come to an end as they fell to #2 Clarion 3-1 to end their run in the tournament. It was the second meeting between the two teams this season and although it was a competitive match, the Cardinals were unable to overtake the golden eagles on the day.

After losing to Clarion earlier this season, the Cardinals came out looking for revenge as their offense scored four of the first six points in set one to take a 4-2 lead. After pushing that lead to 5-3, Clarion got going as they went on a 6-0 run to flip the score to 9-5 in favor of the Golden Eagles. That lead wouldn't last long as wheeling battled back with a 6-2 run of their own that tied the set at 11-11 and brought things back to square one. The two teams remain tied until the score sat at 13-13 Midway through the set. Clarion would go on another big run, this time 5-0, and made it an 18-13 set. The Cardinals would battle to within one point of the golden eagles but the match ended up going to set point at 24-19. Tylah Yeomans kept the set alive with a kill but Clarion would go on to win 25-20 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Set two started out as another competitive set between the two teams with Clary and leaning 4-1 in the early going before wheeling battled back to tie it at 7-7. However, the Golden Eagle offense would once again prove tough and went on their biggest run of the match so far at 12-2 to take a 19-9 lead over wheeling. That deficit was too much for the Cardinals to overcome as they ended up falling 25-13 and went down two-0 in the match. It was the first time this season that the Cardinals have been down 2-0 in any match and they were looking to stay alive and keep their Atlantic Regional tournament hopes a float heading into set three.

Clarion got.out to the early lead, scoring four of the first six points, but the set would eventually be tied at 8-8 in the early going. Wheeling would pull away courtesy of a 6-2 run, and the Cardinals had their first lead since set one as 12-9. The Cardinals maintained their close lead, sitting at 20-17 as the set moved into the later stages. Clarion tied things at 20-20, but a Tylah Yeomans kill would change the Cardinals fortunes as they set up set point at 24-20. After a Clarion point, the Cardinals got a kill from Mady Winters to give them the 25-21 set four win. However, the night wouldn't last much longer as Clarion pulled out the win in the final set to advance to the Atlantic Region Championship game. While the Cardinals did not make it to the Championship game, it was the cap to another strong season.

Leading the way for Wheeling was Tylah Yeomans, who finished with 15 kills on the day and hit .275 for the evening. The other two Cardinals in double digits were Allonda Watkins and Riley Kindall, who finished with 10 kills each. On the defensive side freshman Melia Gorrell led the way with 14 digd and Riley Kindall added 10 to finish the night.

The Wheeling University Volleyball team now heads into the offseason as they look to continue to grow the program.