Wheeling, W. Va. - The 11-game homestand continues this weekend for the Wheeling University Volleyball team (6-5, 1-1) with back-to-back home contests on Friday and Saturday. After dropping their first Mountain East Conference (MEC) match of the season on Tuesday, the Cardinals will look to bounce back in front of the home crowd. The weekend begins on Friday, when they welcome in MEC North Divisional opponent Point Park at 7 PM, before they continue their non-conference schedule on Saturday against Malone at 2 PM.
On Tuesday, the first run through the MEC North began for the Cardinals when they welcomed in Fairmont State. Wheeling was riding the momentum of a five-set win over West Virginia State, but the Falcon's offense came out strong from the get-go. They built a 7-3 lead in the opening set, and the Cardinals would have to play from behind the entire night. Near the end of the first set, the Cardinals were within striking distance at 21-19, but the Falcons finished off a 25-19 set one win. As the match went on, Fairmont State's offensive attach got stronger, and the Cardinals would end up falling in straight sets. It came to a head in the final set, where Fairmont State put up a match-high .536 hitting percentage on their way to a 3-0 win over Wheeling.
Despite the loss, Faith Keifer continued to lead the passing game for the Cardinals, putting together a team-best 14 assists, while finishing second on the team with six digs. While it broke a string of three straight double doubles for the junior, it continued her recent string of success in the passing game. Over her last four matches, Keifer has averaged 4.47 assists/set and 2.65 digs/set, with three of those four matches resulting in double-doubles. She currently leads the team with 169 assists, averaging 4.23 assists/set, while sitting third on the team with 88 digs, averaging 2.20 digs/set. As the Cardinals look to bounce back, Keifer will look to be a driving force to that success, with clean passes to her attackers.
Behind her on the back line, Mara McDougal continues to grow as the team's libero, adding 18 digs to her season on Tuesday. She has recorded 15 or more digs in six of the team's first 11 matches, including her career-high of 25 back on September 4 against CAL-U. She ranks third in the MEC in digs/set (4.93), and sixth in total digs (197) and looks to continue to lead the Cardinal's back line. On what was a slow night for the offense, it was Bella DeBarr who would be the team's most efficient hitter on the night. She knocked down four kills on eight total attacks, finishing with a .250 hitting percentage. DeBarr has been a strong role player off the bench for the Cardinals, hitting .340 across 11 matches and 28 sets played. She has knocked down 20 kills on 50 total attacks, with only three attack errors, and looks to continue being a strong piece for Wheeling.
As the Cardinal's current 11-game homestand reaches its final three matches, Wheeling looks to maintain their winning record on their home floor. Through the first eight matches of the homestand, the Cardinals have gone 5-3, with four of those five wins coming in matches that have gone four sets or more. Winning the first set has been a key point of success for the Cardinals this season, with the team going 3-0 when they take the first set, compared to a 3-5 record when dropping the first set. The Cardinals are also a perfect 4-0 in matches that go at least four sets, and they look to get back on track with a pair of weekend matches as their first month comes to a close.
The Match-up
Point Park: The Cardinals and Pioneers are meeting for the 10th time in program history on Friday, with Wheeling having won each of the first nine meetings between the two teams. It will be the Pioneer's seventh trip inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center, with the Cardinals going 6-0 in those previous meetings. Since joining the MEC in 2024, Wheeling has gone 4-0 against Point Park, with their most recent meeting being the line four-set match-up between the two teams. Wheeling would win that match-up back on November 7, 2025, 3-1 as they traveled to Point Park. Camryn Matus would lead the Cardinals with 13 kills in the effort, while Katie Wilking added 12, and former Cardinal Megan Platt led the defense with 26 digs.
Malone: The Cardinals and Pioneers are meeting for the 17th time in program history on Saturday, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 13-3. It will be Malone's eighth trip to the Alma Grace McDonough Center, with Wheeling going 6-1 in those match-ups. Wheeling has won each of the last 10 meetings between the two teams, with four of those meetings going four sets. The last meeting between the two teams came on September 17th, 2024, in a match-up that Wheeling would win 3-0. Olicia Batch would lead the offense for Wheeling with six kills, while former Cardinal Karly Niesen added 30 assists. On the back line, Batch would also lead the way, finishing with 12 digs.
The Details
First serve for Friday's weekend opener against Point Park is scheduled for Friday, September 25, inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
