Institute, W. Va. - After back-to-back 3-0 sweeps in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Quarterfinals and Semifinals, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (25-10) made it back to the MEC Championship match on Saturday. It was a rematch of each of the last two MEC Championship matches as the Cardinals battled West Virginia State. However, this time the script was flipped as Wheeling fell to the Yellow Jackets 3-1, bringing their run in the MEC Tournament to a close.
In the opening set, the two teams went back and forth over the first four points of the set, with West Virginia State starting things off. Katie Wilking would knock down the two Cardinal kills, and the set sat tied at 2-2 through four points. However, it would end up being a set of runs, with West Virginia State opening things up with a 5-1 run. They added a 7-1 run and a 5-1 run during the set and would set up set point with the score sitting at 24-10. The Cardinals were not about to go down without a fight, and a service error from the Yellow Jackets would send them on their first run of the set. Samantha Comer knocked down a kill and an attack error would get the Cardinals as close as 24-13. However, an attack error from Cami Black would give West Virginia State a 25-13 win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Despite the loss, the Cardinals had momentum on their side and used that to start set two, after falling behind 3-0. A service error gave the Cardinals the ball back and Bella DeBarr would answer with a service ace to tie the set at 3-3. The two teams would never be separated by more than two points early on and a setting error by the Yellow Jacket would tie the set at 10-10. This is where the Cardinals would open up daylight, scoring six of the next seven points to take their biggest lead of the night at 15-11. After State temporarily broke the run, a dump kill from Karly Niesen would send the Cardinals on a 5-0 run and the Cardinals held a 20-13 lead. West Virginia State would get back to within five points at 21-16, but Wilking would send the Cardinals on the set clinching 4-0 run. A service ace from Comer would set up set point and Olivia Batch knocked down the kill to give Wheeling a 25-16 set win and tied the match at 1-1.
As the third set began, momentum swung back the Yellow Jackets way as they scored six of the first seven points to take a 6-1 lead. Mady Winters broke the run with a kill and Olivia Batch would add her first of the set as the Cardinals got back to within a 9-6 score. The Yellow Jacket offense kept on swinging and a 5-0 run opened the score to 16-7 midway through the set. Wheeling would continue to battle back, with a Winters kill making it 21-16 late but, as the Cardinals did to the Yellow Jackets in set two, West Virginia State went on a 4-0 run to make it a 2-1 Yellow Jacket lead with a 25-16 set three win. With their backs against the walls, the Cardinals would come out strong in set four, taking an early 7-4 lead. Wheeling would hold the 17-16 advantage at the midway point, but a 5-0 Yellow Jacket run was the beginning of the end. It opened up the scoring and it would be a service ace from Morgan Caba that brought the night to an end with West Virginia State picking up a 25-19 win and a 3-1 win in the match.
After the match, Head Coach Christy Benner praised her team for their fight throughout the season, and now will look forward to the NCAA DII Atlantic Region tournament run.
"I was really glad to get here and play in the finals because there are some really good teams in the conference and we are going to face some really good teams in the regional if we get a bid," "I am very proud of our team and we need to handle adversity better and now that we know wins and losses happen we have to be ready for that as we move towards the regional."
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Mady Winters, who finished with 10 kills on 24 total attacks for a .292 hitting percentage. She put together her best game of the tournament and was the lone Cardinal to reach double digit kills on the day. Karly Niesen would add 35 assists to lead the offense and finished with six digs. Riley Kindall rounded out the strong night, finishing with nine kills and a team-high 16 digs on the day. The Cardinals have won the conference title every year since the conference was formed in 2013 and will now have their eyes set on the NCAA DII Atlantic Regional selection show on Monday.
The Wheeling Volleyball team will now wait to see if they receive a bid in the 2024 NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Tournament during the NCAA DII Volleyball selection show on Monday, November 23rd, at 7:30 PM.
