Fairmont, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Volleyball team (5-8, 2-0) started the Mountain East Conference (MEC) schedule with a win on Friday and kept the good times rolling as they started divisional play Tuesday. The Cardinals hit the road to battle Fairmont State University, and they came out on top in a 3-1 match inside the Joe Retton Arena. The Cardinals hit .200 or better as a team in three of the four sets on the day and it was enough to move their record to 2-0 to start conference play.
Wheeling made a statement right from the first point in set one as Mara McDougal got things started with a service ace. Wheeling would go on to score four of the first five points in the set before Katie Wilking got them going again. Wilking knocked down a kill and the Cardinals were sent on a 7-0 run that opened the scoring to 11-2. The Falcons tried to battle their way back into the set, getting to 19-10, but the early lead was too much as Olivia Batch picked up a kill late that sent Wheeling on a 4-0 swing. It made it a 23-10 game and two points later Cami Black would bring up set point with her fourth kill of the set. Fairmont State would knock down the next two points to stay alive, but it was Aleithia Wilson that picked up the final kill, giving Wheeling the 25-13 set one win.
Wheeling was staked to a 1-0 lead in the match and after the dominant set one win, they kept things going scoring the first three points of set two. This time, it was Fairmont State with the answers as they hit runs of 6-0 and 6-1 that had them out in front 12-5 midway through. With Fairmont State leading 16-9, the Cardinals got the ball back on an attack error and it helped them battle back into the set on an 8-0 run that had them ahead 17-16. The set stayed tied at 22-22, but Fairmont State would take the set with a 3-1 run that gave them the 25-23 set two win. The match was tied at 1-1 and the Cardinals would look to take the crucial third set of the match and take control on the floor.
It was a pair of attack errors that started the third set and the Cardinals were out to a 2-0 lead through two points. The two teams would go back and forth through the early part of the set, before a Camryn Matus kill created the first separation of the day. Wheeling would go on a short 3-0 run, and tacked on another 3-0 run later to build a 17-12 lead. Fairmont State would stay close, but it was a Black kill that helped the Cardinals put the nail in the coffin. Wheeling went on a 6-2 run that made it a 23-15 set and, after a Fairmont State kill by Joey Borelle, Matus knocked down a kill to bring up set point at 24-16. Batch would be the one to end the set with a kill and Wheeling would take a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-16 win.
The Cardinals were looking to close things out in the fourth set and were off to a strong start after a McDougal kill. Wheeling scored the first three points of the set and seven of the first 10 points as they jumped out to a 7-3 advantage. The Falcons got back to within three points of the Cardinals, but Black would end up once again getting the Cardinals started with a kill. This time, it sent the team on a 6-1 run that gave Wheeling their biggest lead of the set at 14-7. The Falcons were down but not out, and needed one more run to close the gap. With the score sitting at 17-14, Black would send them on one final run with a kill and Wheeling would go ahead 23-16 late in the set. Fairmont State was down, but not out, going on a 5-0 run that got them to within 23-21, but Olivia Batch stopped it cold with a kill to bring up match point. Matus would take to the serving box and ended things right there with a service ace to give Wheeling a 25-21 set four win and a 3-1 win in the match.
It was a career day for Camryn Matus that led the Cardinals, as she set a new career high with 20 kills on 44 total attacks. She was also the Cardinal's most efficient hitter of the match, finishing with a .318 hitting percentage and adding two service aces and two digs to round out the day. She was one of four Cardinals to hit double digit kills on the day, with Cami Black (13), Katie Wilking (10), and Olivia Batch (10) all hitting the double digit kill mark. On the back line, Wheeling was digging the ball out with Kendall Kupper leading the way with 34 digs and Mara McDougal setting a new career-high with 20 digs. Faith Keifer led the passing game with 28 assists, while Lexi Duplessis added 21 of her own to round out the night.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Friday, October 3rd, when they host Point Park with tip-off at 7 PM.
