Wheeling, W. Va. – After two days of competition, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (5-4, 0-0) closed out the Mountain East Conference (MEC) / Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament. When their backs were against the wall, the Cardinals turned it on, completing the reverse sweep against Clarion on their way to a 3-2 win. It was a duo of sophomores that led the comeback, as Wheeling heads into their MEC schedule sitting at 5-4.
The Cardinals came out swinging in the first set, with Isabella Faro starting things with a service ace, that led Wheeling on a 3-1 run to start the match. However, the Golden Eagles would counter punch, and the teams went back and forth until the score sat at 12-11. It would be a 6-1 run that ended up being the difference with Clarion taking the first set 25-19. Set two would see Clarion come alive right from the start, taking a 10-1 lead and Wheeling would have to play catch up. Camryn Matus would knock down two kills in the set, while Olivia Batch and Ava Green each knocked down a kill of their own. They would not get into double digits in the set, and would fall 25-9 to go down 2-0. With Wheeling staring down the face of a possible sweep, Wheeling would look to turn things around in set three. After having a big showing in set two, it would be Matus that got set three started with a kill, and set the Cardinals off on a 4-0 run to start set three.
A Cardinal attack error would briefly bring the run to an end, but the Cardinals just kept swinging, as Aleithia Wilson picked up a kill and Wheeling scored five of the next seven points and pushed their advantage to 9-3. Clarion continued to stay in the set, pulling back to within 12-8 before Wilson once again started the Cardinals on a run. She would pick up three kills over a 4-0 run that had Wheeling riding high once again, leading 16-8, and Matus would keep her big day going, with two more kills, and Batch added a kill that made it a 20-11 score. The Golden Eagles would put together one more push, getting as close as 21-16 before the Cardinals closed things out. Katie Wilking would break the 5-1 Golden Eagle run with a kill and Wheeling would never look back. A Clarion attack error would bring up set point at 24-16, and Bella DeBarr would round things out with a kill as Wheeling stayed alive with a 25-16 set three win.
With their match lives still hanging in the balance, set 4 would be back and forth to open things up. Clarion would hold a 9-7 advantage through the first 16 points before DeBarr kicked off a 7-1 Cardinal run that opened things up. Three different Cardinals registered kills on the run, with Matus leading the way with two. It put Wheeling ahead 15-11 at the media timeout and that lead would only grow as the set went on. Wheeling would spread the ball around to get to the 20-point mark, and a pair of DeBarr kills would make it a 22-15 lead late. It would be Matus that brought up Set point at 24-16, but Clarion had one more push up their sleeve. They would score the next three points to get within five of the Cardinals, but Matus would be the one to put a stop to it with a kill and give the Cardinals the 25-19 set four win. Entering the match, Wheeling was a perfect 2-0 in matches that went four or more sets, and they looked to continue that perfection as they headed to set five
Faith Keifer would head to the servers box to start the set and promptly started things with a service ace. It put the momentum on wheeling's side, and they would score eight of the first 10 points in the fifth set. The Cardinal defense would play a big role in the success, forcing three attack errors from the Golden Eagles, and Wheeling was well on their way to making a comeback. Clarion would get their third point on a Taylor Haupt kill, but a second Cardinal run would give Wheeling all the momentum they needed. Wilking would get things started and knocked down two kills as part of the 6-1 Wheeling run and it would bring up match point at 14-4. The Golden Eagles would survive for two more points, but it was the senior Wilking who would bring the set to an end with the kill that made it 15-6 and gave the Cardinals the 3-2 reverse sweep of Clarion. It was their second five set win of the season, and gives them momentum heading into their conference schedule.
Leading the effort for the Cardinals were a pair of sophomores in Camryn Matus and Aleithia Wilson. Matus led the way with 14 kills on 33 total attacks, hitting .364 In the match, while Wilson finished with the highest hitting percentage at .409, while knocking down 11 kills. Matus would also earn her first double double of the season, leading the way with 20 assists, and finishing three digs shy of completing the triple-double. olivia Batch led the defense with 15 digs, while Mara McDougal added 14 to round out the night.
The Wheeling University Volleyball Team returns to action on Friday, September 18, When they host West Virginia state with first serve at 7 PM.
