Pensacola, FL. – Day two of the SpringHill Suites Tournament brought new opponents and challenges to the Wheeling University Volleyball team (0-3, 0-0). The Cardinals were scheduled for two matches, one against the University of West Florida and Spring Hill College. The Cardinals fought hard against the two elite foes, however, they would fall to the Argonauts 3-0 and come up just short of the Badgers 3-2. Despite the Cardinals coming out on the losing side, Cami Black put on quite performance with 21 kills while Faith Keifer recorded 43 assists across both contests.
Match One: West Florida 3, Wheeling 0
After a tight battle with Northern Michigan to open the SpringHill Suites Tournament, the Cardinals would pair up with the host University of West Florida on day two. The Argonauts, who received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Preseason Poll, came out hot in set one, knocking down nine of the first 12 points to take a 9-3 lead. Katie Wilking would pick up the lone Cardinal kill during the run, while a couple of Argonaut attack errors netted Wheeling their other two points. Willing would help get the Cardinals back to within three with her second kill, but it was West Florida runs that ruled the set. The Argonauts would hit runs of 6-6-1 and 7-1 down the stretch, and a Wheeling attack error would bring the set to its final score of 25-12.
As the second set began, Wheeling would once again fall behind early, with West Florida picking up four of the first five points. A kill by Sophia Barber would begin to turn things around, and the Cardinals would respond with a 4-2 run of their own and got to within one point of West Florida at 7-6. Three points later, West Florida threatened to pull away again, hitting a 6-2 run, but it would be another young Cardinal star that got the Cardinals going once again. Alethia Wilson would knock down a kill, and the Cardinals answered with a 5-1 run that once again made it a one-point set at 15-14. Once again it would be Argonaut runs that decided the Cardinal's fate, as they hit a 9-2 run that brought up set point at 24-16. Cami Black would keep the Cardinals alive for an extra point with a kill, but West Florida took the set 25-17 and held a 2-0 lead.
In the final set, it would be the Cardinals that took the early lead thanks to a Black kill, but West Florida's powerful offense continued throughout the day. They built a 12-5 lead early and were able to extend that advantage to 18-9 by the midway point of the set. The Cardinals would continue to fight, with Camryn Matus knocking down a kill to put a pause on the Argonaut attack, and as West Florid acrossed the 20-point mark Black would hit a kill that started a 3-1 Wheeling run. With the score sitting at 22-13, West Florida would end the set right there, knocking down the final three points and claiming the 25-13 set victory. Wheeling's young team continued to battle through the SpringHill Suites Tournament and would look to bounce back in the nightcap.
Leading the way for the Cardinals on offense was Cami Black, who finished with six kills on 24 total attacks on the day. She was the Cardinal's leading attacker for a second straight match and has knocked down 21 kills over two matches so far. The Cardinal's most efficient hitter was Katie Wilking, who finished with a .364 hitting percentage, while Alethia Wilson tied her with four kills in the match. Faith Keifer would handle a majority of the team's setting duties, finishing with 12 assists, while Camryn Matus followed her with eight. Megan Platt continued to lead the Cardinal's back row, finishing with 12 digs to round out the match. Wheeling headed into their nightcap looking for their first win of the season and a split of day two on the court.
Match 2: Wheeling 2, Spring Hill College 3
For the second match of the day, the Cardinals were pitted up against the Badgers of Spring Hill College. Set one started well for Wheeling with a Cami Black spike for the first point of the set. The teams traded off points until the Badgers added some early separation with an 8-4 run that forced a timeout from the Wheeling bench. The brief break in the action helped the Cardinals soar back into the set with kills from Olivia Batch, Katie Wilking, and freshman Camryn Matus. The Cards added two service aces, one from Faith Keifer and the other from freshman Mara McDougal as the Cardinals took an 18-17 lead. After the 8-3 run, the Badgers called for a timeout. Spring Hill came off the bench to produce a 4-1 run, prompting head coach Chrisy Benner to call her final timeout of the set. Following the breather, the Cardinals closed the first set on a 6-2 run with two kills each from Black and Aleithia Wilson as Wheeling won 25-23.
The second set brought less of a spread in the score early on as neither side saw themselves up by more than two points. That is until Matus struck four consecutive kills to the floor to push the Cards ahead 13-10. The Badgers responded with a 12-6 run that moved Spring Hill in front 22-19. The Cardinals, though down, were not out and did not give up hope. A quick pause did the trick to regroup as Wheeling powered back with a 6-1 run late in set two for the 25-23 victory.
The Cardinals looked to make quick work of the Badgers in set three with a 2-0 lead in the match, however, the Badgers were not quite done yet. Spring Hill jumped out with an early 7-3 lead to start the set three, but the Cardinals rallied back with a 7-3 run of their own to tie things up at 15 a piece. On the run, Matus smacked down two kills with the help of a kill each from Wilking and Wilson. The middle of the set was tightly contested, but an 8-3 run from the Badgers closed set three 25-20, but they were still trailing the Cardinals two sets to one in the match.
A bad set, a kill from Black, and a service ace from McDougal was the chain of events leading to a 3-0 start to set four, but it was short lived as the Badgers tied it up and answered every Cardinal point back to put both teams at 10 a side. Spring Hill turned up the heat with a dominating 15-6 run to tie the match up 2-2 and head to the fifth and final set.
The Badgers brought with them the momentum they had created in the previous set to launch themselves to an 8-3 lead in set five. When the teams switched sides of the court, the Cardinals picked themselves up and chipped into the lead with the help of Bella Debarr and her three kills in a row to pull within three, 10-7. However, the Badgers added five kills to their total to win the fifth set 15-9 and the match three sets to two.
In the close defeat, Cami Black continued to headline the Cardinals with 15 kills. Katie Wilking finished just behind her with 13 and finished as the team's most efficient hitter once again, recording a .355 hitting percentage. Faith Keifer was the team's primary setter as she registered 31 assists while freshman Lexi Duplessis put up 18. Mara McDougal finished with three aces and Kendall Kupper ended the match with two aces and lead the team with 17 digs.
The Cardinals will end the West Florida Invitational tomorrow afternoon when they take on #15 Southwest Minnesota State University at 1:30pm.
