Wheeling, W. Va. – After two days of action inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center, the Wheeling Volleyball team (3-8, 0-0) played the final day of the Wheeling Invitational on Saturday. The Cardinals would finish the weekend 3-1 overall, splitting their two matches on the final day of competition. Wheeling started the day with a 3-1 win over CAL-U in the morning, before falling to Clarion in the nightcap.
Match 1: Wheeling 3, CAL-U 1
After wins on each of the first two days, the Cardinals would look to keep the success rolling as they opened day three against CAL-U. The Vulcans were hot out of the gate, knocking down the first three points of the set, before Camryn Matus got the Cardinals on the board with a kill. It sent the Cardinals on a 6-1 run as they flipped the scoreboard, taking a 6-4 lead in the set. CAL-U would stay right with the Cardinals until Olivia Batch knocked down a kill that made it 10-8. Wheeling would score seven of the next eight points, with Batch being responsible for three of those seven points, and their lead ballooned to 16-9 late in the set. The Vulcans got back to within five at 20-15, but Katie Wilking hit her stride with a pair of kills and the Cardinals set up set point at 24-16. CAL-U would have one more point in the set, but a kill by Lexi Duplessis would give Wheeling the 25-17 set win.
With Wheeling ahead 1-0 in the match, set two would be the most competitive of the day between the two teams. Neither team had more than a two-point lead at any point in the set, and CAL-U set up set point at 24-22. Batch and Matus would go back-to-back on kills to tie things up and send the set into win-by-two scenario. However, back-to-back CAL-U kills was enough to give the Vulcans the 26-24 set two win and tie the match at 1-1. Wheeling would bounce right back in set three, taking a 2-0 lead before CAL-U tied things at 5-5. Cami Black would knock down a kill to get the Cardinals back in front and sent them on a 7-1 run that opened things up at 12-6. CAL-U wasn't out yet as they hit a 7-1 run of their own that brought the score to 16-15. It was down to the wire, with CAL-U getting to 23-21, but an attack error made it set point at 24-21. The Vulcans followed with a second attack error and the Cardinals took the set 25-21.
Now with a 2-1 lead on their side, the Cardinals looked to end things in four sets and made an early statement. Matus got things started with a kill and the Cardinals went on a 6-0 run to start the match. Matus would knock down three kills during the run, and Wheeling was out to a 9-3 advantage in the early going. The Vulcans would not go down without a fight, hitting a 6-2 run that made it 12-10, but Matus was back at it sending the Cardinals on a second big run. This time, it was a 5-0 run in which Matus had two kills, and the Cardinals would go up 17-10 late. Wheeling would allow just five points over the next 12 point swing, and Batch would cap off a 3-0 run with a kill that brought up match point at 24-15. Cal-U would get one more point off a Wheeling attack error, but Batch would redeem herself by knocking down the final kill and giving Wheeling the 25-16 set four win. They would take the match 3-1 and moved to 3-0 across the three-day tournament so far.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was junior Katie Wilking, who finished one kill shy of her career high with 18 on the night. It was an efficient night for the Cardinal's middle, who finished with a .556 hitting percentage, and was one of two Cardinal's over the .400 mark. The other Cardinal to eclipse the mark was Camryn Matus, who set a new career-high with 16 kills and a .448 hitting percentage. Cami Black and Olivia Batch rounded out the double-digit kill efforts, finishing with 17 and 16 kills, respectively. Faith Keifer set a career-high in the passing game with 39 assists, while Lexi Duplessis added 21 assists in the effort. On the back line, it was Kendall Kupper who led the way with 19 digs, while Keifer picked up the double-double with 10 digs of her own. The Cardinals would look to sweep the Wheeling Invitational as they headed into their final match with Clarion.
Match 2: Clarion 3, Wheeling 2
In the second match of the night, the Cardinals welcomed one of their Regional rivals in Clarion University. The Golden Eagles took an early 2-0 lead, but freshman Camryn Matus would turn things around for the Cardinals with a kill. It was the start of a 7-1 run for the Cardinals in which Matus would knock down four kills, as Wheeling took a 7-3 lead. Clarion was able to keep Wheeling close throughout the set and hit an 8-1 run that had them leading 15-11 midway through the set. It would be the defense that helped Wheeling work their way back up, with the front row forcing bad swings, And the set would sit tide at 20-20 late. The teams would trade the next six points of the set and it was anyone's game as the score sat tied at 23-23. A Clarion attack error would bring up set point for the Cardinals, And it would be the duo of Katie Wilking and Matus that went up for the block that gave the Cardinals a 25-23 sent one win.
In set two, the teams were jockeying for position as the set sat tied at 12-12 near the midway point. Clarion would go on a 7-2 run that created separation before they went on to take set two 25-16. It left the match sitting tied at 1-1 with a big third set coming up. The Golden Eagles scored the first point of the set on a kill from Claire Bickett, but Matus was at it again knocking down a kill to send the Cardinals on a run. This time, it was a 7-0 swing and Clarion called a time out to regroup down 7-1. The Golden Eagles responded with a 5-1 run of their own that made it an 8-6 set. The third set would be a set of runs as every time Wheeling struck Clarion had an answer. The score would sit at 17-15 in favor of Wheeling late in the set and a block assist by Wilking and Matus would seal the set. It sent the Cardinals on a 4-1 run. Clarion momentarily broke the run, but an attack error would bring the score to 24-18. It would be an attack error again that brought the set to a close at 25-18, and Wheeling took a 2-1 lead in the match.
Set floor would start out close, with Wheeling trailing 7-6 in the early going, but an 8-1 run got Clarion's offense going. They would build a 14-8 lead and Wheeling would score just five more points in the set as Clarion picked up the 25-13 set four win. With the match tied at 2-2, the teams would head to the decisive fifth set to close out the tournament. The two teams traded the first eight points of the set before Clarion got the first upper hand. They would hit an 8-2 run before Wheeling called a timeout, and added two of the next three points after that to take a 13-7 lead. Wheeling was down to their last two points of the night, but kept on fighting as Batch knocked down a kill to get the ball back on their side. Wheeling would score the next four points, two of those coming from Batch, For Clarion set up match point at 14-11. Wheeling needed three points to stay alive and Batch knocked down a kill that had them back in it. Wheeling will get the three points they needed, with a service ace by Faith Keifer forcing the win by two scenario. However, the comeback was too little too late as Clarion picked up the next two points, winning the set 16-14 and taking the match 3-2.
Wheeling was led by Camryn Matus, who finished with 18 kills in the match, wrapped up a strong tournament for the freshman that saw her in double-digit kills in each of the four matches, setting season highs twice throughout the tournament. She was the only cardinal to reach double digits in the match, but the most efficient hitter was Aleithia Wilson, who finished with a .333 hitting percentage. On the back line, Kendall Kupper had a career day finishing with 25 digs, And was one of three Cardinals to finish with double-digit digs. Bella DeBarr would add 10, while Faith Keifer picked up her second straight Double-Double with 13 digs and a team-high 21 assists in the match.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Friday, September 26th, when they hit the road to face West Virginia state with tip off at 7 PM.
