Wheeling, W. Va. - Postseason play is upon us and it is a tight race as the race towards the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tournament is on. With conference championship tournaments beginning this week, the top four in the field are closer than ever as the battle to host the tournament heats up. The Wheeling University Volleyball team ended up dropping two spots in this week's rankings, coming in at #4 behind Gannon, Clarion, and the University of Charleston. 

Since the last rankings were released back on October 30th, the Cardinals have competed in just one match against West Liberty, where they picked up a 3-1 win on the road. It was a competitive match throughout, with no one set being decided by more than eight points. The Cardinals combined to hit .235 for the night and took the first two sets by scores of 25-17 and 25-20. Their first set saw their highest success rate, with a .368 hitting percentage. The Hilltoppers came back to take the third set at 25-20, before the Cardinals closed the day with a 25-20 set four win that game them the 3-1 victory to end the regular season. 

With the win, the Cardinals moved to 23-3 in in-region play and 23-7 overall against NCAA DII opponents. Despite the win, the Cardinals ended up dropping two places in this week's Regional Rankings after Gannon defeated Clarion and the University of Charleston picked up a win over the weekend. The top four in the Atlantic Region are all neck and neck and the favorites to head to the conference championship in both the Mountain East Conference (MEC) and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). It is going to come down to the final game of the conference postseason play to see who will be hosting the 2022 NCAA DII Regional Tournament. Wheeling has been the host site nine times in program history, including every season since 2012 where there has been an Atlantic Regional Tournament. 

Taking the number one spot in this week's Atlantic Regional Rankings was Gannon, who jumped two spots from #3 a week ago. Clarion dropped down to #2 after the loss to the Golden Knights and The University of Charleston jumped into the #3 spot. The rest of the Atlantic Regional Rankings looks like this: 

1. Gannon (21-2, 23-5)
2. Clarion (22-3, 24-3)
3. Charleston (24-1, 30-3)
4. Wheeling (23-3, 23-7)
5. Fairmont State (26-4, 28-4)
6. IUP (19-6, 20-7)
7. West Libert (19-8, 20-11)
8. West Virginia State (23-5, 24-5)
9. Shepherd (15-6, 20-6)
10. Shaw (20-6, 21-7)

The Wheeling University Volleyball team kicks off MEC Tournament play on Thursday, November 10th, when they take on the #4 seed from the MEC South, Glenville State, with tip-off scheduled for 2:30 PM.