Wheeling, W. Va. - After earning a sweep to start Homecoming on Friday, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (14-8, 8-2) returned to the floor for a special senior day match. The Cardinals would honor seniors Giana Mutersbaugh, Katie Wilking, and Josie Schroder in a pregame as they welcomed in Shawnee State for the first meeting between the two programs. The Cardinals would honor their seniors with a sweep of the Bears, moving to 8-2 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play.
Junior Faith Keifer would get things started with a service ace and the Cardinals would jump put to an early 7-3 lead. Senior Katie Wilking would be one of four different Cardinals to knock down kills on the run, before Shawnee State hit a 5-0 run of their own to take an 8-7 lead. Ava Green would get the ball back in the Cardinal's court, and Tatum Creps would knock down three kills as part of a 6-1 run and the Cardinals would lead 15-11 at the media timeout. It would end up being a set of runs, with the teams going back and forth until the late portions of the set. Wheeling would lead 20-17, before Faith Keifer dumped a kill to lead the Cardinals on a 5-0 run that brought up set point at 24-18. Shawnee State was not ready to fold, hitting a 4-0 run before a service error gave Wheeling the 25-22 set one win.
As they headed into set two, the Cardinals would control things right from the get-go, scoring the first six points of the new set. Isabella Faro would take the server box to start the set, and led the way with two service aces during the run, while Cmaryn Matus added a pair of kills. Wheeling would build a 9-4 lead before Shawnee State began pulling back to within 10-6 before the Cardinals began to pull away again. This time, it was a 9-3 run that lasted through the media timeout and saw Wheeling take a 19-9 advantage. Faro would add her third service ace of the set, while Wilking knocked down two kills on the run. Shawnee State would once again try to battle back, and got to within 22-14 before the Cardinals closed out the set. Kills by Creps and Matus would bring up set point, and a Shawnee State attack error gave Wheeling the 25-14 set two win as they took a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set would once again see the Cardinals take an early lead, with another service ace for Faro headlining a 5-1 Cardinals lead. However, the Bears would battle back and the two teams would end up trading the first 19 points of the set. Wheeling would hold a 10-9 lead before Wilking knocked down a kill to start a 7-1 run that had the Cardinals ahead 17-10 after the media timeout. Aleithia Wilson would add two kills, and Mara McDougal would get in on the service ace parade as Wheeling looked to close out the sweep. They would lead 22-15 late in the set, and Shawnee State would put together one last push for a comeback attempt. They scored three of the next four points, before a pair of seniors would close out the night. Wilking would bring up set point, before Schroder closed out the 25-18 set three win to earn the 3-0 sweep.
It was a pair of freshmen who led the way for the Cardinals, with Tatum Creps and Ava Green each knocking down nine kills on the day. Creps would be the most efficient hitter for Wheeling, finishing with a .692 hitting percentage, while Green would finish one kill shy of her career-high. In total, six Cardinals would finish with a .300 or better hitting percentage, with Camryn Matus, Katie Wilking, Aleithia Wilson, and Faith Keifer all hitting the mark. Keifer would lead the passing game, finishing with 19 assists, while Camryn Matus finished one assist behind her with 18. On the defensive side, Mara McDougal would lead the way with 15 digs, while Kendall Kupper added 10 digs.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Tuesday, October 20, when they travel to Fairmont State with first serve at 7 PM.
