Right from the start of the match, the back and forth battle would be on display in set one. The Cardinals got off to a hot start, building an 11-7 lead over the first 18 points, before Fairmont State came battling back to force a win-by-two scenario. Wheeling would get the first point of the win-by-two scenario, but Fairmont State came back with three straight points to earn the 27-25 win in the first set to take a 1-0 lead. Being down 1-0 in the match motivated the Cardinals as they came out in set two and scored six of the first nine points of the set. Tylah Yeomans has two kills during the run and would begin what was a season-best performance for the senior. After Fairmont State broke the run, the Cardinals started again with Yeomans knocking down another kill to start a 5-0 run to push their lead to 11-4.
 

Wheeling would go on two more runs of 4-0 and 5-0 during the set as they built their lead to 23-11 in the late going. Fairmont State would stay alive in the set, getting as close as 24-15 before Karly Niesen picked up a kill to even the match at 1-1 and give Wheeling the 25-15 win. Just like they did in set two, the Cardinals were out to another fast start in set three, scoring seven of the first nine points of the set. Mady Winters and Yeomans fueled the opening run, with each picking up two kills as the Cardinals built their lead. They would maintain that lead throughout the set, getting as high as 17-8 as a Yeomans kill pushed the Wheeling lead to nine. After they pushed the lead to 20-13, Fairmont State kicked it into high gear and battled back to make it 21-17 with a 5-1 run.
 

The Cardinals broke the run on a service error and brought up set point with back-to-back Fairmont State attack errors. The Falcons would know down one more kill to stay alive, but Riley Kindall would get the final kill as Wheeling won the set 25-19 and took a 2-1 lead in the match. They would look to wrap things up in four sets and once again built a lead as they had in each of the last two sets. This time, the Cardinals built a 13-8 lead, capped off by four straight kills from Chaney Brodbeck, Winters, and two more kills by Yeomans. However, the Falcons would battle back to tie the match at 17-17 and would eventually overtake the Cardinals and stay alive with a 25-23 win to force a fifth and Final set.
 

Winters would get the set started with a kill, but back-to-back Fairmont State points made it 2-1 Fairmont State. Winters would be back at it with her second kill of the set and the Cardinals would go on a 6-1 run that made it a 7-3 lead. After Fairmont State broke the run, they committed an attack error and a Riley Kindall kill would make it 9-4 Cardinals. The Falcons continued to battle throughout the set, getting as close as 14-10, but an attack error by the Falcons would end the set as Riley Kindall got the solo block and the Cardinals won 15-10 and took the match 3-2. For Wheeling it was their first conference win of the season and they are now 3-2 when facing a five-set scenario.
 

Leading the way for the Cardinals was senior Tylah Yeomans, who set a new career-high with 22 kills on the night. It was one stroke higher than her previous Career best, and she was one of three Cardinals to finish with double digit kills on the evening. The other two Cardinals to finish in double digit kills were Mady Winters and Riley Kindall, who each finished with 15 kills on the night. It was another big night for Karly Niesen, who finished with 60 Assists and is now just 43 assists away from reaching the 4,000 career Assist mark. On the defensive side, it was a career day for Berit Jones, who set a new career-high with 36 digs and was just seven digs away from the single-match record. Kindall and Abbey Queen each added 19 digs to round out the defensive effort.
 

The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Friday, September 29th, when they host Salem with tip-off scheduled for 7 PM.