Institute, W. Va. – The 2024 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Volleyball Championships kicked off on Thursday with Quarterfinal action. The Cardinals used an efficient offensive attack, led by their middle blockers, as they took down West Virginia Wesleyan 3-0. The middle blockers accounted for 20 of the team's 42 kills on the day as the Cardinals hit .449 as a team in the win.
Leading the group was Samantha Comer, who finished with nine kills and a .667 hitting percentage on the day. Comer was a big factor in the Cardinal's hot start to the day, and has thrived in her new role as middle hitter this season. She ended up tied with Olivia Batch, who finished with nine kills on 19 total attacks, putting together a .368 hitting percentage. Wheeling was able to spread the wealth around throughout the match, with 11 players picking up kills on the day, thanks to the work of Karly Niesen, who finished with 37 assists. With her effort, she became just the 22nd setter in NCAA DII history to reach the 6,000 career assist mark, and the first in the Wheeling Volleyball program history. Riley Kindall would round out the night, finishing with 12 digs to lead the Cardinal effort.
After trading the first two points of set one, the Cardinals hit their first of many runs on the night, scoring six straight points to take a 7-2 advantage. Comer and Batch each knocked down kills as the Cardinals took the early lead. On the 13th point of the match, history would be made with the Cardinals leading 9-3. Karly Niesen would set the ball for Katie Wilking, who knocked down the kill to put the Cardinals ahead 10-3. It would mark her 6,000th career assist, making her the 22nd setter in the history of NCAA DII to reach the milestone. She continues to build on her program record in career assists, sitting at 6,033. Wheeling continued to hold a sizeable lead late into the set, holding a 19-9 advantage, and an attack error would set up set point at 24-12. West Virginia Wesleyan would keep the set alive with an extra point, but Aly Finch knocked down the final kill to give the Cardinals their 25-13 win.
Wheeling kept the success going into the second set, scoring the first two points on a service error and a kill from Mady Winters. However, this would be the most competitive of the three sets, with the score sitting at 9-7 in favor of the Cardinals as Wheeling called their first timeout. The Bobcats would make it a one-point set at 11-10 before a service error sent the Cardinals on a run. They scored six of the next seven points, with Wilking leading the way with two kills on the run, and the Cardinals took an 18-11 lead. As the set rolled on, Wheeling maintained their lead and Lindsey James would knock down a kill to set up set point at 24-16. West Virginia Wesleyan tried to stay alive, but an attack error would send the set as the Cardinals won 25-16 and took a 2-0 lead in the match.
Wheeling did not waste any time taking the lead in the third and final set, with Comer starting things off with a kill. Wheeling scored the first three points of the set and, after the Bobcats got two of their own, Wheeling would add another 6-0 run. They led 9-2, with four different Cardinals registering kill during the run and back-to-back service aces courtesy of Riley Kindall. West Virginia Wesleyan would get within four points of the Cardinals at 11-7, but Batch would put the ball back in Wheeling's court. They went on another 6-0 run and would end up setting up match point with the score sitting at 24-11 after a service ace. West Virginia Wesleyan's Jayla Cowherd knocked down a kill to keep the Bobcats alive, but it was Aly Finch that had the final say with a kill and the Cardinals picked up the 25-12 win. They earned a 3-0 sweep in the quarterfinal round and advance to tomorrow night's MEC Semifinal round.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Friday, November 22nd, when they battle the University of Charleston in the MEC Semifinals with tip-off at 7:30 PM.
