Wheeling, W. Va. – With their spot in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Volleyball tournament secured, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (18-9, 12-4) drove up Route 88 for the second meeting of "The Battle for Wheeling" in 2026 in their final postseason tune-up. It was another classic battle between Wheeling and West Liberty, with the two teams battling to five sets, and the Cardinals would complete the reverse sweep, earning a 3-2 win to close out the regular season. The Cardinal freshmen led the comeback effort as Wheeling gets ready for the 2026 MEC Volleyball Championships, heading into the tournament as the #2 seed in the MEC North Division.
The Hilltoppers would be the first to strike a blow on the night, scoring eight of the first 11 points in the opening set. That lead would hold at 15-11 by the media timeout, as Wheeling continued to battle back until late in the set. Aleithia Wilson and Ava Green would each knock down kills late, getting Wheeling as close as 24-23, but a kill by West Liberty's Julia Birck gave the Hilltoppers the 25-23 set one win. Set two would be back and forth the entire way, with neither team holding more than a four-point lead throughout the set. Wheeling would be the one ahead, holding a 20-16 lead late, but West Liberty battled back to force a win-by-two scenario at 24-24. The teams would go back and forth for the next eight points, with a Wilson kill bringing the set back to even at 28-28. However, it would be West Liberty that knocked down the final two points, with a service ace from Dakoda Keni earning them a 30-28 set two win.
With the Cardinals down 2-0 in the match, Wheeling would have to battle back, and they did so with their most efficient set of the night. They would hit .390 in that third set, and the Cardinals jumped out to a 10-3 lead to start the set. Senior Katie Wilking led the way with two kills on the run, while Kendall Kupper added a service ace to get the set started. Wheeling would turn to freshman Tatum Creps for their next run, as she knocked down three kills as part of a 6-1 run and the Cardinal lead ballooned to 16-6 in the late portion of the set. Bella DeBarr would get in on the action, knocking down two kills over the next five points to make it a 21-12 Wheeling lead before West Liberty hit a 6-1 run to cut the Cardinal lead to 22-18. Camryn Matus would bring up set point with a kill, and a 4-0 West Liberty run would keep them alive for four more points. It would be a dump attack from Faith Keifer that ended the set at 25-22, and gave Wheeling the momentum they would need for the rest of the night.
The score now sat at 2-1 in favor of West Liberty, and the fourth set would once again see the two teams battle. The Hilltoppers would take the first lead, going ahead 7-4 through 11 points, but the Cardinals would battle back to take a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. Matus would lead the run with two kills, while Creps and Green continued their big days with one kill each. Following the break, West Liberty would flip the scoreboard for the third time in the set, thanks to a 7-2 run that made it 18-17. Green would tie things up with a kill and the Cardinals would take the lead for good with a 7-1 run that put them back ahead and brought up set point at 24-19. Green would add a kill and a block to her night during the run and, after two more Hilltopper points, the freshman would knock down the final kill to give Wheeling the 25-21 set four win. It forced a decisive fifth set for the Cardinals and they would look to complete the reverse sweep.
Wheeling would get the opening serve in the set, and the teams would trade the first four points of the set. The fourth point came on a Hilltopper setting error, and Wheeling would hit the first run of the night, scoring six of the next seven points to take a 7-3 lead. Matus would start the rally with a service ace, and Green ended it with a kill that had Wheeling in the driver's seat early. West Liberty would come back and tie the set with a 4-0 run, and Green would get the Cardinals back on track with a kill. She would knock down two kills over the next four points, combined with a Mara McDougal service ace as Wheeling took an 11-7 lead. Five points later, a West Liberty service error brought up set point and, after a West Liberty kill by Amira Dupree, a Hilltopper attack error brought the set to an end with Wheeling earning the 15-10 win and completing the reverse sweep of the Hilltoppers.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was freshman Ava Green, who knocked down 14 kills on a team-best 46 total attacks during the day. It was the fourth time in the last five matches that Green has been the Cardinal attack leader, while hitting double digit kills in each of those matches. The other Cardinal to reach double digit kills was Tatum Creps, who set a career-high with 11 while being the most efficient hitter with a .320 hitting percentage. Camryn Matus and Faith Keifer each hit the 20 assist mark, with Matus leading the way with 24 while Keifer added 20. Mara McDougal would lead the defensive effort, setting a career-high with 32 digs in the effort.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Wednesday, November 11, when they take on The University of Charleston in the MEC Quarterfinal with first serve at 11:30 AM.
