Columbus, OH. - After opening the weekend with a three-set sweep of Salem on Friday, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (8-9, 4-0) hit the road to continue their non-conference weekend. After taking the first set, the Cardinals would fall in the final three sets of the night as they fell to Ohio Dominican 3-1. The Cardinals would hit .225 as a team across the four sets, but just weren't able to overcome the Panthers over the final three sets.
It would be the Cardinal's block crew of Aleithia Wilson and Camryn Matus that would get the night started with a block assist, and the Cardinals would get out to a 5-3 lead in set one. Ohio Dominican would battle back to tie the match at 5-5 and ended up taking their first lead on a 5-1 run that made it an 8-6 score early on. The teams would continue to go back and forth, with the lead changing hands two more times before the Panthers led the set at 19-15 late. The Cardinals would turn to leader Cami Black to get the ball back in their court, and she would knock down three kills as part of a 6-1 Cardinal run that gave them a 21-20 lead. However, Ohio Dominican would put up set point at 24-22, and three striaght Cardinal points would force a win-by two scenario. It would be Bella DeBarr that brought the set to an end, knocking down back-to-back kills to give Wheeling the 27-25 set one win.
In the second set, the Panthers would take an early lead, scoring five of the first six points in the set. The Panthers would hold the lead until midway through the set, as a Wilson kill got the Cardinals back up in front. Wheeling built an 18-15 lead and, by the end of the set, would hold a 23-21 advantage. Ohio Dominican's Saige Avery was able to get Ohio Dominican going with a kill, and they scored the final four points to take a 25-23 set two win. Both teams were looking to take control of the match in set three and early on things would go back and forth. Wheeling would hold a 7-6 early advantage, but a 9-1 Ohio Dominican would open the gap. It was a lead that Ohio Dominican would never relinquish and they went on to win by the final score of 25-17.
With two wins already under their belt, the Panthers were looking to close out the Cardinals and they would jump out to a 7-1 lead early. Camryn Matus would stop the run with a kill and Wheeling would begin to slowly battle back in the set. They would get as close as 11-9, and were able to stat within striking distance of the Panthers throughout the set. Wheeling continued to trail until late in the set when DeBarr knocked down a kill and Matus and Katie Wilking both went up for a block assist to make it a 21-20 lead. However, the Panthers would hit a short 4-1 run, bringing up match point and DeBarr would knock down one more kill to keep the Cardinal's alive. It wouldn't be meant to be as Jenna Peters knocked down the final kill for Ohio Dominican and they went on to win 25-23, and took the match 3-1.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Bella DeBarr, who picked up her second double-double of the season. She would set a pair of new career highs, finishing with a team-best 15 kills and 17 digs to round out a big day on the court. DeBarr was one of four Cardinals to hit the double-digit kill mark, with Cami Black (14), Katie Wilking (11), and Camryn Matus (10) all hitting the mark. It was a big day for Lexi Duplessis, who finished with a career-best 41 assists on the afternoon, while adding seven digs and two blocks. Joining DeBarr in the double digit dig field was Kendall Kupper (12) and Mara McDougal (11) to round out the day.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Tuesday, October 14th, when they take on West Liberty with tip-off at 2 PM.
