Wheeling, W. Va. – Over the final two weeks of the regular season, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (14-12, 9-3) are one of four teams fighting for a chance to host the 2025 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Volleyball tournament. They started the run strong on Tuesday night when they welcomed in Frostburg State with three MEC North matches remaining on the schedule. The Cardinals started the run off with a bang as they earned the 3-0 sweep, helping them keep their spot at the forefront of the race.
Frostburg State got the night going with the first two points of the night before the Cardinals hit a run. Olivia Batch would start the run with a kill and Wheeling would score seven of the next eight points to take a 7-3 lead. Camryn Matus would account for two of the kills on the run and, despite getting out to an 8-4 lead, Frostburg State would continue to battle. They got back to within one point of the Cardinals at 10-9 before Bella DeBarr broke the run with a kill. The two teams would go back and forth throughout the first set and it would be Frostburg State holding a 20-19 lead late in the set. Katie Wilking would get the ball back in Wheeling's Court with a kill, and the offense would take it from there. It would be DeBarr that single-handedly led her team to set point knocking down three kills in the four Points, and she closed out the run with kill number four that gave Wheeling a 25-20 set one win.
With the Cardinals leading 1-0, Frostburg state was determined to even the match coming out hot in set too. They scored four of the first five points and would hold a 10-6 lead early in the set. The combo of DeBarr and Batch played big for the Cardinals in the set as they got to within two points of the Bobcats on three different occasions. Back-To-Back kills from Ava Dickerson would bring the score to 18-16 in favor of Frostburg State but, once again, they pulled away with a 3-0 run. The Cardinals were trailing 21-16 before a Matus kill had them on the comeback trail. It would start a 7-0 run for the Cardinals with Matus knocking down two kills, that brought up set point at 24-21. Frostburg State would knock down back-to-back points to stay alive before Batch picked up the set winning kill to give Wheeling a 25-23 set two win.
With a 2-0 lead on their side, Wheeling would have to play catch up one more time after Frostburg state jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead and set three. With their lead holding at 6-5, Wilking sent the Cardinals on a 7-2 run that flipped the scoreboard. Wheeling would hold a 12-8 lead and, unlike the first two sets, It was one they wouldn't give up the rest of the way. Frostburg State would get as close as 13-12, but Batch would help pull the Cardinals away for good leading a 9-2 run. The sophomore would pick up three kills and a service ace during the run As the Cardinals took a 22-15 advantage. Frostburg state would break the Run but it was too little too late as an attack error set up match point for the Cardinals at 24-15. The Bobcats would pick up two more points before DeBarr closed out a strong offensive effort with a kill that gave Wheeling the 25-17 set three win And a 3-0 sweep of the match.
Leading the effort for the Cardinals was freshman Camryn Matus, who just missed a double double with 11 kills and nine digs. She finished with a .217 hitting percentage on the night and has played a big role on both sides of the ball. The other Cardinal that hit double-digit kills was Bella DeBarr, who finished with 10 on the night, while Olivia Batch was the most efficient hitter with nine kills on 26 total attacks to finish the day with a .269 hitting percentage. On the defensive side, Megan Platt continued her strong play with 13 digs and was one of three Cardinals to hit double digits on the day. Batch (11) and Mara McDougal (10) would each reach the mark to round out the back line defense. The setter group rounded out the day with Faith Keifer picking up 20 assists, while Lexi Duplessis added 17.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Friday, November 7th, when they travel to Point Park with first serve at 7 PM.
