Wheeling, W. Va. – Mountain East Conference (MEC) play got fully underway for the Wheeling University Fall sports teams this past week as the chase for the MEC Tournament begins. On Tuesday, the Athletic Department releases their weekly Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award winners, and it was a trio of strong conference performances that took home honors. Wheeling Football player Jalen Higginbotham and Men's Soccer player Alberto Madail won co-Male High Flyer of the Week honors, while Volleyball player Camryn Matus took home the Female High Flyer of the Week award.
The past week saw the MEC schedule get fully underway for the fall sports programs, starting with a soccer road doubleheader against Davis & Elkins. It was a pair of close games in Elkins, West Virginia, with Women's Soccer dropping a 1-0 score to the Senators, while the men fell 2-1, nearly getting the equalizer at the end of regulation. As the weekend began, it was a Friday night match-up inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center as Wheeling Volleyball hosted West Virginia State in their MEC opener. The two teams battled to five sets on the night, with Wheeling coming out on top 3-2 to start 1-0 in conference play. Saturday would bring on a home doubleheader, with Wheeling Football securing a 28-24 win over Fairmont State in their MEC opener, while Men's Soccer picked up a 5-1 win in the nightcap against Seton Hill. The weekend would wrap up with Women's Soccer taking on Fairmont State and, after staying close throughout the game, they would end up falling 7-2.
Alberto Madail is winning his first Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award of the season, after setting a career-high in saves against Davis & Elkins. Against the #15 ranked Senators, Madail would finish with 10 saves on 12 shots faced, putting together an .833 save percentage in the effort. After conceding two goals in the first 60 minutes of play, Madail would lock in over the final 30 minutes, holding Davis & Elkins off the board. He would make seven saves in the first half, coupled with three in the second half to round out his big day in net. It was the start of a week that would see him make 11 saves in total across two games, with one coming in the second half of the team's non-conference meeting with Seton Hill on Saturday night. For his efforts, Madail was named the MEC's Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, capping off a big week in net.
Joining him as co-Male High Flyer of the Week was Jalen Higginbotham, who like Madail also earned conference player of the week honors. The sophomore linebacker was named the MEC's Football Defensive Player of the Week, after setting a career-best for the second week in a row with 17.0 total tackles. Of his 17.0 total tackles, six were solo and 11 assisted, including 1.0 tackle for loss. His defensive game stiffened in the second half, where he recorded 7.0 of his 17.0 total tackles, with his 17th being his biggest. It would come on a third and two at the Wheeling 25-yard line, as he helped stuff a third down conversion attempt, setting up the fourth down stop that would eventually earn the Cardinals the 28-24 win. With the effort, Higginbotham propelled himself to the top of the MEC tackle leader boards, sitting second with 40 tackles this season and 10.0 tackles per game.
On the women's side, Camryn Matus took home her first Female High Flyer of the Week award of the season after leading the team to an MEC-opening win against Fairmont State. She was asked to play all over the court, racking up her second straight double-double with a team-high 17 kills to go along with 20 assists. While she was a leader on offense, her defensive work would not go unnoticed, as she finished with eight digs to finish just two shy of her second career triple double. Her 102 kills rank sixth in the MEC, while she sits eighth in the conference with 2.76 digs/set. She will continue to be asked to move around the court for the Cardinals and be a steady presence on both the offense and the defense.
With the announcement of the week four Cardinal High Flyer of the Week awards, Men's Soccer and Football are earning their second honors of the season, while Volleyball takes home their third. Alberto Madail joins teammate Jon-Michael Gordon from Men's Soccer in being honored, Jalen Higginbotham joins Landon Lutz for Wheeling football, and Camryn Matus joins teammates Autumn King and Mara McDougal in being honored for Wheeling Volleyball. Last week, the Wheeling athletic department honored Men's Golfer Sean Dobson and McDougal for their efforts.
The next Wheeling University home athletic event is scheduled for Tuesday, September 22, when the Wheeling Volleyball team hosts Fairmont State with first serve at 7 PM.
