Wheeling, W. Va. – With fall camps underway, the 2025-2026 season is just over a week away from taking the field. On Monday, the Mountain East Conference (MEC) released their annual Volleyball preseason poll as voted on by the conference coaches. After finishing as runners-up in both the MEC and Regional level in 2024, the Wheeling University Volleyball team took the top spot in the MEC North Preseason Poll.
The 2024 season saw the Cardinals start out with a tough preseason schedule that benefited the Cardinals down the stretch. After dropping their first conference game of the year, the team came soaring back, winning nine straight conference matches and clinched the #1 spot in the MEC North Division. As they headed into the tournament, the Cardinals started things off with a bang taking down West Virginia Wesleyan and the University of Charleston in back-to-back sweeps. They headed into the MEC Championship match against West Virginia State, and fell 3-1 to finish as runners-up in the conference. They would advance to the NCAA DII Atlantic Regional level and once again made a run, taking down Pitt Johnstown 3-1 and IUP 3-2. They battled Gannon in the NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Championship and after taking the first set, they fell 3-1 to end their season.
As they enter the 2025 season, the Cardinals are taking on a young look after graduating 10 players from the 2024 roster. In their place, Head Coach Christy Benner has brought in 10 more freshmen and transfers to try and replace them. The Cardinals will look to a few of their returners to lead the way, in the form of middle hitter Katie Wilking and outside hitter Olivia Batch, Both earned All-MEC honors a season ago, with Wilking earning Second Team All-MEC honors, and Batch earning the conference's Freshman of the Year award. With all of the young talent on the roster, there will be competition across the court as the Cardinals look to make it back to the Regional Championship level.
The 2025 schedule will hold similar challenges to the 2024 schedule, with Head Coach Christy Benner once again putting together a challenging preseason schedule. They kick-off their schedule at the West Florida Invitational, and follow that up with a trip to Grand Valley State. They return home on September 18th for their annual Wheeling Invitational, where they welcome Gannon, Shippensburg, CAL-U, and Clarion to the Alma Grace McDonough Center. The three-day event will challenge the Cardinals against the best-of-the-best in the region as they look to get back to the Regional Championship level. The challenges for the young team in the preseason will help prepare them for the conference run as they look to avenge last season's MEC Championship loss.
The Cardinals took the top spot in the MEC North Division Poll, earning nine first place votes and 49 total points overall. They were followed by Fairmont State, who earned one first place vote and 37 points, while West Liberty also earned a first place and picked up 35 points to round out the top three. In the MEC South, it was The University of Charleston who earned the top spot, picking up seven first place votes and 57 points. They were followed by West Virginia State ((3) 49), and Concord ((1) 46) to round out their top three. The full 2025 MEC Volleyball Preseason Poll is listed below:
MEC North
1. Wheeling (9) - 49
2. Fairmont State (1) - 37
3. West Liberty (1) - 35
4. Frostburg State - 23
5. Point Park - 16
MEC South
1. Charleston (7) - 57
2. West Virginia State (3)- 49
3. Concord (1) - 46
4. West Virginia Wesleyan - 34
5. Glenville State - 21
6. Davis & Elkins - 18
The Wheeling University Volleyball team tips-off their season on Thursday, September 4th, when they take on Nothern Michigan in the first game of the West Florida Invitational with tip-off at 5:30 PM.
