Pensacola, Fla. - For the 11th straight season, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (1-0, 0-0) started their year in Pensacola, Florida, at the SpringHill Suites Invitational. The Cardinals put their young talent on display right from the get-go, earning a 3-0 sweep over Spring Hill College to start the year. The Cardinals posted a .208 hitting percentage across the three sets while holding the Badgers to a .060 mark.
Leading the way for Wheeling was sophomore Autumn King, who put together a career-best 13 kills while hitting .407 across 27 total attacks. She averaged 4.33 kills per set in the match and would end up being the closer for the Cardinals in the third set. After knocking down seven kills through the first two sets, King would knock down six of her 13 kills in the final set. Her night ended with a three-kill streak that made it 23-13 late in the set, leading the Cardinals to the eventual sweep. Finishing behind her was Isabella Faro, who knocked down eight kills in her collegiate debut, while Camryn Matus added seven kills. On the back line, Mara McDougal lead the effort with 19 digs, while Brooklyn Brennan and Faith Keifer each finished with 12 assists.
Spring Hill College would get the momentum to start the match, knocking down three straight kills to open the first set. The Badgers took a 4-1 lead before the Cardinals got back in it thanks to some Spring Hill College errors. With the Cardinals back to within one, Matus would knock down the first Wheeling kill of the year, and a Spring Hill attack error made it a 6-5 Wheeling lead. With the set score sitting at 7-7, the Cardinals hit their first run, a 5-1 swing led by kills from Faro and Katie Wilking that gave them a 12-8 lead. The Cardinals maintained their four-point lead late into the set, when a Matus kill made it 16-12, but Spring Hill came charging back. They would hit a 9-4 run that put them ahead 21-20 late, and the Cardinals would look to answer.
King would get her big day started with a kill that sent the Cardinals on a 3-0 run, and her second kill of the set made it a 24-22 lead. Despite it being set point, Spring Hill wasn't done fighting, scoring two of their own to force a win-by-two scenario. That's when the Cardinal offense struck, with Matus and Faro each knocking down kills to give Wheeling the 26-24 set one win. With a 1-0 lead on their side, the Cardinals carried that momentum into set two, with King knocking down two kills as part of a 4-1 Cardinal run to start the set. Spring Hill College would pull back to within a 6-4 score, but this time the Cardinals would not let them battle back into the match. Matus got things started, and Wilking knocked down two kills to lead the Cardinals on a 6-3 run that made it a 12-7 set.
The Badgers once again got to within two points of the Cardinals at 12-10, but a Spring Hill service error opened the door for the Cardinals. Three different Cardinals would knock down kills as part of a 9-2 run, including the first Wheeling kill for Brennan, and the Cardinals took a 22-13 advantage. The Badgers scored just three more points in the set before a King kill and a Spring Hill attack error gave the Cardinals a 25-16 set two win and a 2-0 lead in the match. The final set saw the Cardinals get off to their best start of the day, taking an 8-3 lead led by two kills for King. The Cardinals would maintain the advantage the rest of the way, and knocked the Badgers out with an 8-2 run that set up match point. King would have three kills during the run, but it was one final kill from Faro that won the set 25-15, giving the Cardinals the 3-0 sweep.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action for day two of the SpringHill Suites Tournament on Friday, August 28, when they take on The University of West Florida at 1 PM.
