Wheeling, W. Va. - It is all coming down to the final week of play in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Volleyball Tournament race with four teams still alive in the race to host this year's tournament. The Wheeling University Volleyball team (14-12, 9-3) continues their push to host when they hit the road on Friday night to take on Point Park with first serve at 7 PM. Wheeling will look to keep the momentum on their side as they control their own destiny in the race for hosting rights.
Last time out, the Cardinals welcomed in Frostburg State in a game that was back and forth in the early going. The first set was the most efficient by both teams on the night, with the Cardinals hitting .300 while the Bobcats countered at .237. The lead would change hands four times during the set, but a 6-0 run at the end of the set by Wheeling was enough to pick up the 25-20 win to start the night. Frostburg State would get out to a lead in each of the three sets, but the second set saw them hold the advantage until the score sat at 21-16. Wheeling would once again hit a late run, this time a 9-2 swing as they battled back and took a 25-23 victory. With the score holding at 2-0 in favor of Wheeling, the Cardinals would put together multiple third set runs and would come out on top 25-17 to earn their fourth conference sweep of the season.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was freshman Camryn Matus, who continues her strong play this season. She nearly finished with a double-double, finishing with a team-high 11 kills to go along with nine digs in the effort. She was one of four Cardinals to hit over .200 in the effort, finishing at .217, and she also got in on the team's blocking effort with two block assists in the effort. Matus has been one of the top attackers in the conference this season, sitting third in the conference with 251 kills this season, while holding the 10th best hitting percentage in the conference. She is the only Cardinal to finish with a triple-double this season and looks to continue to be a leader for the team on both sides of the ball.
On the defensive side, Freshman Megan Platt continued her string of success, leading the team in digs for the fourth game in a row. She finished with 13 digs in the effort, while adding a kill and an assist to her effort to round out the day. It continued her recent string of success that has seen her total 87 digs over her last five matches while averaging 4.83 digs/set during that span. Platt looks to continue her success on the back line and help lead the Cardinals to the postseason. The other near double-double on the day came from Olivia Batch, who finished with 11 digs and nine kills in the effort. She was the Cardinal's most efficient hitter out of eligible attackers, finishing with a .269 hitting percentage, while putting together her second-best hitting performance of the season.
It is all coming down to the final three matches of the season, with three MEC teams sitting at three losses, while two more have four losses. Leading the race to host right now are Wheeling and The University of Charleston, who are each sitting at 9-3 in MEC play. Because Wheeling swept Charleston last week, the Cardinals hold the tiebreaker over the Golden Eagles coming down to the final day. West Liberty currently sits a half game behind Wheeling in the MEC North standings, but has an advantage after beating Wheeling earlier in the season. When the two meet in the 2025 regular season finale and, if both teams win their remaining conference matches, the Cardinals would have to beat West Liberty to win the regular season MEC North title. If the Cardinals lose to the Hilltoppers, Wheeling would have to go on the road for the tournament to either Charleston, West Liberty, or on the outside chance Fairmont State or West Virginia Wesleyan. There is still a lot to decide in the final weeks as the teams play it out on the court.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Pioneers are meeting for the ninth time in program history on Friday, with Wheeling having won each of the first eight meetings between the teams. However, it will only be Wheeling's second trip to Point Park, where they hold a 2-0 record compared to a 6-0 record when they host the Pioneers. Wheeling has won 24 of the 27 sets played between the teams all-time, including earning 3-0 sweeps in each of the last four meetings between the two programs.
The teams met up for the first time this season back on October 3rd in a match that the Cardinals would win 36-0. Bella DeBarr would lead the way for the Cardinals with a double-double, finishing with 10 kills and 10 Digs for what at the time was her first career double-double. Mara McDougal would lead the defensive effort with 11 digs, while Cami Black added eight kills to round out the offense.
The Details
First serve for Friday's match is scheduled for 7. Inside the Student Center Gym on the campus of Point Park University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE
