Wheeling, W. Va. - As they enter the final week of Mountain East Conference (MEC) regular season play, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (16-9, 10-4) is looking to hold their second place standing in the North. On Monday, the team will play their final home game of the regular season when they host Davis & Elkins with first serve at 7 PM. With the Cardinals currently sitting one game ahead of West Liberty for the second spot in the North Division, Wheeling will look to just keep winning as they come down the stretch.
The Cardinals are coming off back-to-back sweeps for the second time in October when they traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to take on Point Park Friday. It was a strong Cardinal attack that paced the team throughout the day, knocking down a combined 41 kills while holding a .227 team hitting percentage. The first set would be back and forth, with both teams trying to gain the advantage. It was a late run by the Cardinals that secured the 25-21 set one win and gave Wheeling the upper hand moving forward. Wheeling would hit .200 or better in two of the three sets, and used a .214 team hitting percentage to earn a 25-18 set two win. In the final set, Point Park would try to stay alive, with the set sitting tied at 21-21, but Wheeling would go on a 4-1 run to end the set and earn the second straight sweep for the Cardinals.
Leading the way for the Cardinals once again was freshman Ava Green, who knocked down 14 kills in the effort. It was the third straight match where the freshman has finished with double-digit kills, with this being her highest hitting percentage during the string at .306. Green has slowly been creeping up the Cardinal offensive leaderboards, sitting third on the team with 129 kills while sitting second with 2.63 kills/set. During this run of success, Green has put together a hitting percentage of .248 across four matches, while hitting .300 or better in two of those four matches. As Green and the Cardinals head into the final week of the regular season, the freshman looks to continue to be a strong option for the team down the stretch.
Heading into the final week, junior Faith Keifer is chasing a milestone as she approaches the 1,000 career assist mark. Keifer enters play with 995 career assists, just barely missing the mark against Point Park, where she finished with 15 assists. Over her last seven matches, Keifer has hit the 20 assist mark three times and has been part of a one-two punch in the setting game. The other half of that duo has been Camryn Matus, who led the Cardinals with 19 assists against the Pioneers. She has recorded two triple-doubles this season, and is coming off a string that saw her finish with three straight double-doubles from October 10 through October 16. She will look to continue to power the Cardinal offense in the final week of regular season play.
Looking at the MEC North Division standings heading into the final week of the regular season, Fairmont State has clinched the division title. However, Wheeling will look to hold on to the #2 spot, sitting one game ahead of West Liberty. With the Cardinals and Hilltoppers set to meet on the final night of the regular season Thursday, Wheeling needs to win on Monday to keep a one-match lead over the Hilltoppers heading into that match-up. Wheeling has gone 11-4 on their home court this season, including having won six of their last seven home matches, and they look to end the home schedule on a high note, while building momentum for the 2026 MEC Volleyball Tournament.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Senators are meeting for the 23rd time in program history, with Wheeling winning each of the previous 22 meetings between the two teams. That stretch includes an 11-0 record at home against the Senators, while going 10-0 on the road. Wheeling has never lost a set in the all-time meeting, completing 22 straight sweeps over Davis & Elkins since they first started meeting in 2002.
The last meeting between the two teams came on October 2, 2026, in a match that Davis & Elkins would win 3-0. Faith Keifer would lead the way for the Cardinals, finishing with 11 assists and 11 digs to complete the double-double. Camryn Matus led the way with 12 kills. While Mara McDougal added nine digs for the defense.
The Details
First Serve for Monday's match is scheduled for 7 PM inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. You can watch the match live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
