Wheeling, W. Va. – It was a night of celebration inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center as the Wheeling University Volleyball team (2-3, 0-0) welcomed back the 2015 National Championship team to celebrate their induction into the Wheeling Athletics Hall of Fame. The Cardinals put on a show on the floor, battling California University of Pennsylvania (CAL-U) to five sets in what was their 2026 home opener. It came down to a win-by-two scenario, with the Cardinals walking away with the 3-2 win to start the home weekend.
After honoring the 2015 team in a pregame ceremony, it was the Vulcans who brought the energy in the early going. CAL-U held a .455 hitting percentage in that first set and battled point for point with the Cardinals throughout the set. With the set one score sitting at 20-18 in favor of the Vulcans, CAL-U went on a 5-0 run to close out the set and Wheeling would fall 25-18 to start the day. Wheeling would use that as fuel when they came out for set two, going in a 4-1 run to start the new set. However, the Vulcans would once again battle back and by the late portions of the set, it would sit tied at 16-16. Freshman Isabella Faro would get her big day started, knocking down three kills in a row and propelling the Cardinals to a 21-17 advantage. CAL-U would answer with two points of their own, but kills by Aleithia Wilson and Camryn Matus kept the Cardinals out in front at 23-20. A CAL-U attack error would set up set point at 24-21 and it would be Autumn King, who was coming off a career weekend at West Florida, who would knock down the kill to give Wheeling the 25-21 set two win.
With things sitting back even at 1-1 in the match, CAL-U would be the next one to punch, opening set three on a 9-2 run. The Cardinals would answer with five straight points to get back in the set and played comeback kids the rest of the way. With CAL-U leading 22-16, the Cardinals would hit a 4-0 run that was capped off by a Katie Wilking kill and the Cardinals got as close as 22-20. That was as close as they got, as CAL-U dumped the final three points, taking the set 25-20. With the match on the line, Wheeling would come out with their most efficient set yet, hitting .279 in set four. The Vulcans would once again take the early lead, this time jumping out to a 6-3 advantage, before another freshman sparked the Cardinals. Ava Green would knock down a kill that started a 5-2 Cardinal run. It put the Cardinals ahead 21-16 late in the set. The Vulcans continued to battle, and would make it a 22-21 score, before the Cardinal hitters started swinging. Camryn Matus would knock down back-to-back kills to bring up set point, and a Vulcan attack error would give Wheeling a 25-21 set four win.
It was all tied up at 2-2 and it would come down to a final fifth set. The Cardinals grabbed the early momentum, with Matus knocking down two kills as part of a 5-2 Cardinal run to start the set. Marie would hit the trifecta with her third kill of the set and Wheeling held a 6-3 lead. The Cardinals continued to run through the fifth set, with Green, Wilson, Matus, and Faro all getting in on the action as the Cardinals led 12-7 late in the set. As was the case for the entire match, CAL-U continued to battle and would hit a 6-1 run that knotted the set up at 13-13. A Wheeling attack error would bring up set point for the Vulcans, but Matus would once again keep the Cardinals alive with a kill. It made the score 14-14, bringing up a win-by-two scenario to round out the final set of the night. The teams would trade the next three points with a Wilking kill giving the Cardinals match point at 16-15. The Cardinals would turn to their freshman one more time as Ava Green knocked down the final kill of the night to give the Cardinals the 17-15 set win and the 3-2 win of the match.
Leading the effort for the Cardinals was sophomore Camryn Matus, who knocked down a season-high 20 kills On 39 total attacks for a .410 hitting percentage. She took the reins in the biggest moment for the Cardinals, knocking down three kills early in set five and totaling six kills in the final set. She had a strong supporting cast around her with Isabella Faro setting a career high with 18 kills while Aleithia Wilson Added 11 kills to round out the double-digit attackers. Brooklyn Brennan and Faith Keifer would spread the ball around throughout the day, with Brennan finishing with 39 assists and Keifer adding 26. On the back line, Mara McDougal set a career high with 25 digs, while Kendall Kupper and Faro each added 19, with Faro capping off her first collegiate double-double.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team returns to action on day two of the Wheeling Volleyball Alumni/Hall of Fame Tournament when they take on Ursuline at noon and UINDY at 6 PM.
