Wheeling, W. Va. - After hitting a rough patch last week, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (9-11, 5-2) turned things around with a big 3-0 sweep on Saturday against Davis & Elkins. The Cardinals look to build off that momentum as they continue their schedule on the road on Tuesday in non-conference play. The team travels to Ursuline College in non-conference action, with first serve scheduled for 6 PM.
The Cardinals welcomed in the Senators on Saturday as they looked to shake back-to-back conference losses. The team would make a statement from the first set, getting out to a 13-5 lead and never looking back. They were able to hold the Senators to single-digits in the set and picked up a 25-9 win to start the day. The Cardinals hit a match best .485 as a team in the first set and would hit .300 or better in two of the three sets. The Cardinals would use the same formula for success in set two, jumping out to an early 8-2 lead and riding that to a 25-19 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match. In the third set, the Senators showed that they wouldn't go down without a fight, taking an early 6-3 lead. However, the Cardinals hit another run mid set as they scored six of the next eight points and were able to complete the sweep with a 25-21 set three win.
It was an all around team effort for the Cardinals, with 10 different players recording at least one kill, but the group would be paced by the efforts of Bella DeBarr. DeBarr would finish not only as the top attacker for the Cardinals, but also the team's most efficient hitter in the effort. She fell just three kills shy of her career high, knocking down 12 on the day, while finishing with a .450 hitting percentage across the three sets. It was the fourth time in the last six matches that DeBarr has reached double digits on the season, and the first time since she knocked down 15 kills against Ohio Dominican. Her .450 hitting percentage was a career best for the sophomore as she continues to step up due to injuries for the team.
On the backline, The duo of Kendall Kupper and Mara McDougal have been leading the charge, with Kupper pacing the Cardinal's back line. Kupper led the defensive effort against Davis & Elkins, finishing with 16 digs in the effort, and was one of two Cardinals to reach the double digit dig mark. She has reached double digit digs in five of the last six matches, going over the 15 dig mark four times in the effort. The other Cardinal to reach double digit digs against the Senators was Mara McDougal, who finished with 12 digs on the day. She has also been on a streak on the Cardinal back line, finishing with double digit digs in seven of the last eight games. Two of those efforts would see her go over the 20-dig mark in two of those efforts.
Tuesday's match starts a stretch of three straight games away from the Alma Grace McDonough Center for the cardinals, and their second to last non-conference game of the season. After taking a loss to Ohio Dominican two Saturday's ago, Wheeling looks to get back on track with their non-conference schedule. It will be another regional opponent for the Cardinals, who have faired well against the region, going 9-4 across 13 regional opponents as they look to put themselves in good standing for the 2025 NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Tournament in November. With the team having put themselves on the outside looking in in terms of hosting the 2025 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships, Wheeling will look to hit a hot streak as they come down the final nine match stretch of the season.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Arrows are meeting up for the first time in program history when they come together on Tuesday night. The Arrows have gone 0-18 in their first 18 matches of the season, including an 0-8 mark in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC). They are coming off of their annual crossover tournament that they hosted against Saginaw Valley, Missouri S&T, and William Jewell College, where they dropped all three matches. The Cardinals look to open the all-time series with a win as they hit the road to start the all-time series.
The Details
Tip-off for Tuesday night's match is scheduled for 6 PM inside the Ursuline College Gymnasium. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE and follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
