Wheeling, W. Va. – After three weeks of non-conference play to start the season, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (6-4, 1-0) began their Mountain East Comference (MEC) schedule on Friday night inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. The Cardinals welcomed in West Virginia State in what was a five-set thriller to open the conference stretch. Wheeling would be the one to come out on the winning end of the five-set fight, using a strong hitting attack in the fifth set to wrap up the win.
After the teams went back and forth through the first four sets it came down to a deciding fifth set. It would be the Cardinals that got things started strong, knocking down the first three points of the set. Autumn King would knock down two kills to open the set and the Cardinals were off and running. West Virginia State answered with two of their own, but senior Katie Wilking would stop them from taking the lead with a kill, And Wheeling would hold a 6-2 advantage. As they had all night, West Virginia State would continue to fight, getting back to within 8-5, thanks to a short 3-2 swing. With the set hanging in the balance, an attack error by the Yellow Jackets would get Wheeling the ball back and they would put the match out of reach. Wheeling would go on a 6-0 run, with Mara McDougal leading the way from the server box as Wheeling brought up match point at 14-5, with a McDougal ace leading the charge. West Virginia state would stay alive for two more points, but it would be Aleithia Wilson who brought things to an end with a kill to give the Cardinals a 15-7 set five win and a 3-2 win of the match.
It would cap off what was a back and forth night in the Alma Grace McDonough Center, led by the effort of sophomore Camryn Matus. She would pick up her second straight double double, finishing with a team high 17 kills and 20 assists, while hitting .326 on the night. She rounded out the night with eight digs on the defensive side as she finished just too shy of her second career triple double. Matus was one of three Cardinals to finish with double-digit kills, with Katie Wilking (14) and Ava Green (10) hitting the mark. On the back line, it was Mara McDougal leading the effort with 23 digs, while Faith Keifer (17) and Kendall Kupper (12) followed right behind her. Keifer would be the second Cardinal to hit a double double on the evening, leading the team with 26 assists to round out the night. With the win, the Cardinals are now 3-0 in five set matches, and start their MEC schedule at 1-0 for the second consecutive season.
Early on, things weren't looking good for the Cardinals as they fell behind 8-3 early in set one and we're still trailing 15-9 by the media timeout. The Cardinals were looking for a spark and got one from freshman Ava Green. Green got the Cardinals back on the board out of the media time out and would knock down three kills over the final 15 Cardinal points of the set. Her kill out of the media break would spark an 8-2 Wheeling run where she combined with two Matus kills to tie the set at 17-17. The lead would change hands twice more in the late going with the score coming even four times until it sat at 22-22. It would be Green who got the Cardinals ahead for good with a kill, and a Yellow Jacket attack error would bring up set point at 24-22. West Virginia state would stay alive with one point, nearly forcing a win by two scenario, but Matus finish things with a kill to give Wheeling the 25-23 set one win. With a 1-0 lead on their side, the Cardinals would go with a heavy dose of Green in the second set as they rode the hot hand.
The Freshman knocked down three kills over the first 12 Cardinal points, and Wheeling trailed by a slim 12-10 margin in the early going. West Virginia state would once again hold the lead at the media time out, this time of 15-10 advantage, and would not look back. Their leads swelled to as much as 20-13, and they would go on to even up the match with a 25-16 set two win. As they moved to set three tide at 1-1, Wheeling was looking to build on their multi-set success, coming to the match 3-0 when they play and least four sets. After Wheeling scored the first two points of the third set, Olivia Batch Entered the match and made her presence known with a kill. Wheeling had a 5-2 early lead and would lead 8-5 after the first 13 points in the set. The Cardinals would lead at the media time out for the first time on the day, and the Cardinal block would get them two points out of the break to give them a 17-11 advantage. With both teams vying for the advantage in the match, West Virginia state would hit a 7-1 run and the set would be tied at 18-18.
Three straight Wheeling points would create some separation, with Wilson and Matus each knocking down kills. Matus knocked down two kills during the final stretch, and a Batch kill brought up set point at 24-20. West Virginia state would score two more to stay alive, before Wilking slammed the final ball to the floor to give Wheeling the 25-22 set three win. Wheeling held a 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth set, and looked to end things there to start their conference schedule. The Cardinals would get the early 4-3 lead, but it would be West Virginia state who ended up controlling things at 11-6. Wheeling got to within one point of the Yellow Jackets late in the set, trailing 17-16, And would tie things up at 21-21 with both teams needing just four more points. However, it was a 4-1 West Virginia state run that would bring the fourth set to an end with the Yellow Jackets earning the 25-22 set four win. It set up the eventual fifth set win for the Cardinals as they started the season 1-0 in MEC play.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on Tuesday, September 22, when they host Fairmont State with first serve at 7 PM.
