Wheeling, W. Va. - With tournament time approaching, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (17-9, 11-4) has gained momentum coming off of three straight sweeps, with two of those coming on the road. On Thursday, the Cardinals bring the regular season to an end when they head to the hilltop to take on West Liberty with first serve at 7 PM. It will be the final tune-up for the 2026 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Volleyball Championships, and the Cardinals look to keep the momentum going into postseason play.
Last time out, the Cardinals welcomed in Davis & Elkins for their 2026 home finale in what was a total team win for the Cardinals. Every active player would see some time on the floor during the night on what was another efficient showing for the Cardinals. They would hit .283 as a team in the effort, with two of the three sets seeing the Cardinals hit .300 or better. Their most efficient showing would come in the opening set, where they hit .393 and used two different runs of five or more points to earn the 25-10 win. Davis & Elkins would show their fight in set two, getting to within three points of the Cardinals late in the set, but the Cardinals would once again close out a 25-18 set two win. With the match on the line, the Cardinals would start to empty their bench and was able to wrap up the day with a 25-10 win, completing their third consecutive sweep down the stretch.
Leading the effort for the Cardinals was freshman Jenna Pence, who knocked down a career-best seven kills while hitting .333 on the night. She would take advantage of her fourth start of the year, knocking down five of those seven kills in the opening set as part of Wheeling's .393 hitting percentage. It was Pence's first appearance since October 10 against Glenville State and was part of a big day for the bench as a whole. Ava Dickerson would be the next Cardinal to hit a career-high, knocking down five kills and being the most efficient Cardinal with a .714 hitting percentage. In her sophomore season, Dickerson has played a bigger role in the middle, appearing in her sixth match and gathering her first multi-kill effort of the season. Rounding out the strong bench performances was Nia Miller, who made her first collegiate appearance, and knocked down the kill that set up match point, the first kill of her career.
It would also be a milestone night for junior setter Faith Keifer, who reached the 1,000 career assist mark in the effort. It would come on the 12th Cardinal point of the night, and was just the start of a big night for the junior. She would lead the way with 23 assists in the effort, the most for Keifer since she picked up 28 assists against Fairmont State back on October 20. Keifer has racked up 450 assists this season, averaging 4.89 assists/set, and has combined with Camryn Matus to help lead the Cardinal offense. Along with her setting success, Keifer's partner Matus has also been the top attacker for the Cardinals through their first 27 matches. She leads the Cardinals with 242 kills so far this season, averaging 2.69 kills/set. She has two of the three triple-doubles across all of NCAA DII this season, and has racked up nine double-doubles this season and looks to continue being the catalyst for the Cardinal's success.
As they enter the final match of the regular season, the Cardinals look to keep their momentum going heading into the postseason. Fairmont State would officially clinch the MEC North Division title on Monday and they will serve as the host site for the 2026 MEC Volleyball Tournament. Wheeling has also clinched their spot, earning the #2 seed in the MEC North Division, and are using this final game as a tune-up for the postseason. Wheeling is entering play having swept each of their last three matches and looks to keep their winning ways going. In the weekly NPI rankings, the Cardinals sit #13 in the Atlantic Region and are looking to put some wins together in the postseason to secure their first trip to the NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Tournament since the 2024 season. It starts with a Thursday night rivalry match as the Cardinals look to sweep the season series against West Liberty.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and the Hilltoppers are meeting for the 60th time in program history on Thursday, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 55-4. When they travel to the hilltop, the Cardinals hold an 18-2 record compared to a 31-1 record on their home court. It has been a back and forth series as of late, with the teams splitting the last four meetings, with two of those four meetings going at least four sets.
In their first season of the 2026 season, Wheeling would come out on top over the Hilltoppers in a 3-1 win. Leading the way for the Cardinals was Camryn Matus, who picked up a triple-double with 13 kills, 13 assists, and 11 digs. Faith Keifer would add a double-double, finishing with 23 assists and 11 digs, while Mara McDougal added 10 digs to round out the night.
The Details
First serve for Thursday's match is scheduled for 7 PM inside the Academic Sports and Recreation Complex on the campus of West Liberty University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
