Wheeling, W. Va. – Following a large graduating class at the end of the 2024 season, the Wheeling University Volleyball team went through a youth movement in 2025. The program welcomed in 10 freshmen to start the year, and the team would claim a share of the Mountain East Conference (MEC) North Division title, while making it to the Quarterfinal round of the MEC Volleyball Tournament. With that year under their belts, the Cardinals return a lot of their young talent from a season ago and look to compete to get back to the MEC Championship match for the first time since the 2024 season.
The young Cardinals were thrown into the fire to start the 2025 season, playing three ranked opponents over their first two weekends. The Cardinals would come back home and get back on track, going 3-1 in their annual MEC / Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament. It would propel them into their conference schedule, with the Cardinals winning each of their first four MEC matches, and they headed into mid-October sitting at 8-8 overall and 4-0 in conference play. After hitting a lull in the middle of the season, the Cardinals continued to hold on to the top spot in the MEC North Division heading into the final day of the regular season. They would battle to five sets against West Liberty, but fell 3-2 to earn a share of the North Division title. They would head into the MEC Volleyball Championships as the #2 seed in the North, but their run came to an abrupt end with a 3-2 loss to the University of Charleston in the quarterfinal round.
As the team heads into the 2026 season, the Cardinals will return much of the young talent that guided them in 2025. Both of their All-Region and All-American honorees return to the court, in senior Katie Wilking and sophomore Camryn Matus, while three of their four All-MEC honorees from a season ago return as well. Matus enters the year as the reigning MEC Freshman of the Year, breaking out in her first collegiate season with 297 kills and a .220 hitting percentage on the season. Helping to lead the youth of the program will be a group of four seniors in Katie Wilking, Josie Schroder, Cami Black, and Giana Mutersbaugh. Wilking earned both All-American and All-Region honors a season ago, and has been a force to be reckoned with in the front row. She led the Cardinals with 80 blocks a season ago, while adding 265 kills and a .321 hitting percentage.
After winning a share of the MEC North Division title in 2025, the Cardinals would lead what was a tight race for the MEC Preseason Poll favorite in a vote of the conference Head Coaches. Wheeling was picked as the preseason favorite, earning six first-place votes and a total of 56 points. They just edged out conference rival Fairmont State, who received five first-place votes and 53 total points as the two will battle for the division title throughout the season. The Cardinals have claimed at least a share of the MEC North Division title in each season since the MEC was formed back in 2013, and they are looking to keep that winning tradition alive in 2026.
They will start the new season in the same way they have started each of the last 10 seasons, with a trip to the University of West Florida Tournament. They will see one ranked opponent in their opening weekend with two meetings with #14 Southwest Minnesota State, before they head back home for what will be an 11-match homestand. It starts with the Cardinals celebrating history in their Hall of Fame/Alumni Tournament, and continues through the annual MEC/PSAC Crossover event. They then head into their conference schedule with the first four matches at home, with a non-conference battle with Malone sandwiched in between. Wheeling looks to get off to a strong start, and will have to be road warriors by season's end, with only five of their final 13 matches being played at home.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team begins the 2026 season on Thursday, August 27th, when they take on Spring Hill College with first serve at noon.
