Wheeling, W. Va. – With just two weeks left in the regular season, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (13-12, 8-3) finds themselves in the driver's seat in the race to host the 2025 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Volleyball Tournament. They start the final two week stretch at home on Tuesday night when they host Frostburg State with first serve at 7 PM. The Cardinals control their own destiny, as they look to bring the tournament back for the first time since 2019.
Last time out, the Cardinals faced the University of Charleston in a battle to see who would be the front runner in the race to host the tournament. Each of the three sets would be decided by five points or fewer as the two teams would battle throughout the night. The first set would be the most efficient for both teams, with the Cardinals hitting .400 while Charleston hit .304. It would be that hitting percentage that would make the difference as the Cardinals walked away with a 25-20 set one win. Both teams efficiencies went down over the next two sets and, As the hitting percentages dropped so did the point differential between the two teams. In set two, the Cardinals would pick up a 25-23 win that had them ahead 2-0 in the match. Charleston would not go down without a fight, forcing a win by two scenario in set three, but the Cardinals would come out on top 27-25 to earn the sweep of the day.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was another strong offensive effort from freshman libero Megan Platt. Platt would finish with 20 or more kills for the third straight match, putting up 21 in the 3-0 victory. Platt stepped up in the libero role for the Cardinals over the last 2 weeks due to injuries across the team. The recent string of success has helped her climb the stat board, sitting third on the team with 222 digs. She is averaging 3.28 digs/set across her 68 sets played and has reached the double digit dig mark in 12 matches, including each of her last four. She originally set her career high with 21 digs back on October 25th against Glenville State and has now hit that mark in three straight matches. She looks to continue leading the Cardinal back line and creating better passes for the offense up front.
On the offensive end, it was Katie Wilking leading the way as the Cardinals most efficient hitter. She would lead the team with 14 kills on 29 total attacks to finish with a .483 hitting percentage in the match. She has been the Cardinals most efficient hitter this season with a hitting percentage of .319, while taking the third most attack opportunities at 543. Wilking is currently the MEC's third leading hitter and has won two All-MEC honors in her career. She looks to continue leading this young team as they embark on this playoff push. In the passing game, the Cardinals have seen Faith Keifer up her game over the past three matches. After a stretch that saw her Finish with three or fewer assists in three straight matches, Keifer has hit her stride over the last three. It started with a 30 assist effort against Fairmont State, and she has averaged 6.90 assists/set During the run and looks to continue setting her hitters over the final two weeks of the regular season and into the postseason.
With four matches remaining on their schedule, three of those in conference play, Wheeling will be the host of the 2025 MEC tournament if they win out. They currently sit tied with Charleston for the best record in the conference at 8-3. With the win on Friday, the Cardinals earned the tiebreaker over the golden eagles and if the two teams finish with the same record, Wheeling would serve as the host. However, West Liberty is close on the Cardinals tail, sitting a half game behind them at 7-3, after they beat Wheeling in the first matchup between the two teams. Wheeling's remaining conference opponents include Frostburg State, Point Park, and the Hilltoppers With matchups against Frostburg State and West Liberty both being on their home court. The Cardinals are 7-3 when they play at home this season and look to use that to their advantage down the stretch.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Bobcats are meaning for the 16th time in program history, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 15-0. The Cardinals have won each of the previous six matches inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center while going 7-0 when they head to Frostburg, Maryland. The Bobcats took their second set all time from the Cardinals in their first meeting of the year, and Wheeling will look to sweep the season series when they meet on Tuesday.
The first meeting of the year between the two teams came back on October 7th in a match that Wheeling would win 3-1. Leading the way for the Cardinals was Camryn Matus, who picked up a double-double With 10 kills and 23 assists on the night. Mara McDougal led the defense with 28 digs while Cami Black added nine kills to round out the night.
The Details
First serve for Tuesday's game is scheduled for 7 PM Inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with live stats by clicking HERE
