Buckhannon, W. Va. - The 2025 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Volleyball Tournament kicked off on Thursday inside the Rockefeller Center on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan. The Wheeling University Volleyball team would help open tournament play when they battled the #2 seed from the MEC South the University of Charleston in the noon match-up. Despite taking an early 2-0 lead where the Cardinals hit .250 or better in each set, Wheeling was reverse swept on the day as they fell 3-2 to bring their Tournament run to an end.
It was a back and forth match-up right from the opening tip, with the Golden Eagles jumping out to an early 3-0 lead in set one. A service error would temporarily break the run, but Charleston kept right on coming, building a 6-2 lead over the first eight points of the set. A kill by Katie Wilking would get the Cardinals back on track, and sent them on a 5-1 run that made it an 8-7 set through the first 15 points. Wheeling was able to keep the lead on their side over the next 13 points, and it was their middles that kept them in the match. Katie Wilking knocked down two kills during the stretch, and the Cardinals added two big blocks as they built a 15-13 advantage. A 5-1 Charleston run would flip the scoreboard, but Bella DeBarr and the Cardinal outside hitters started firing on a 6-2 run as they got back out in front 22-20. Olivia Batch would bring up set point at 24-21, and a kill by Charleston's Patrycja Majos kept the set alive, but Wilking would slam down the final kill and the Cardinals picked up a 25-22 set one win.
With the 1-0 lead on their side, the Cardinals carried that momentum into set two, scoring three of the first four points to start things off. Camryn Matus and Batch each knocked down kills during the run, but Charleston would hit a run of their own scoring eight of the next nine points as they built a 9-4 advantage. Batch would turn things around with a kill, and had Wheeling back to within two points at 11-9. Charleston would keep the tight advantage through the midway point of the set and, with the score sitting at 15-12, the Cardinals would get another big kill from Batch. It sent the Cardinals on a 4-1 stretch and Wheeling would end up tying the set at 16-16. The two teams would go back and forth and, with Charleston leading 20-18, Bella DeBarr would knock down a kill that had Wheeling on a 3-0 swing. The Golden Eagles would get all three of those points back, and it was once again DeBarr that righted the ship. She would knock down a kill and the Cardinals would score the final four points, with an attack error from the Golden Eagles securing the 25-23 set two victory.
Wheeling was out in front 2-0 and looking for the sweep, but Charleston would have other ideas in set three. Wheeling looked to be in control of the match early, taking an 8-4 advantage over the first 12 points but, with the score sitting at 10-7, the tides started to shift. Charleston would hit a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the set and, despite Wheeling tying the score twice, they were unable to overtake the Golden Eagles. Charleston brought up set point late at 24-20, and an attack error would keep the Cardinals alive before a block by the Golden Eagle's Patrycja Majos and Kate Strong would give Charleston a 25-21 set three win. It would move the score to 2-1 in favor of the Cardinals, but a dominant set four for the Bobcats would shift the momentum. The Golden Eagles hit a match-best .448 in the set, and held Wheeling to a -.083 mark as Charleston picked up a 25-12 set four win and tied the match at 2-2.
It would all come down to the fifth and final set, and a service ace from Kendall Kupper would get things started strong. Charleston would flip the scoreboard with a 4-1 run that made it a 4-2 Charleston lead, before the Cardinals responded with three straight points of their own. The run would end with another service ace, this time by Faith Keifer, and Wheeling was staked to a 5-4 advantage early. It would go back and forth over the next six points, but a kill from Batch would keep the Cardinals in the lead at 8-7. However, Charleston would open things up with a 4-0 run, and would take a 13-11 lead late in the set. Lexi Duplessis would dump over a kill to keep the Cardinals alive, but it wasn't enough as Charleston scored the final two points and Wheeling would fall 15-12. They would fall by the final score of 3-2, marking the first time that the Cardinals have not advanced to the MEC Championship match since joining the conference in 2013.
Leading the effort for the Cardinals was sophomore Bella DeBarr, who finished with a team-high 16 kills in the effort. She would come through when her team needed her most early, and was a key piece to the team's 2-0 lead out of the gate. Katie Wilking and Camryn Matus would each finish with double digit kills, putting up 12 and 10 respectively, with Wilking being the most efficient hitter for the Cardinals with a .259 hitting percentage. Wheeling would have three different players finish with double digit digs, led by Olivia Batch, who finished with 20 digs to go along with eight kills. Mara McDougal (18) and Megan Platt (11) would each hit the mark on the run, while Lexi Duplessis led the passing game with 25 assists on the day.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team will now await their fate in the 2025 NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Tournament, with the selection show being set for Sunday, November 23rd.
