Tournament Central
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WHEELING, W.Va. -- Top-seeded Wheeling Jesuit got all it wanted from sixth-seeded West Liberty, but the Cardinals managed to nip the Hilltoppers in a five-set thriller to win the 2017 Mounain East Conference Volleyball Tournament title.

For the second-straight match, the Cardinals were pushed to five sets by their opponent and faced a deficit late in the final set. WJU rallied down 8-6 in the fifth set by scoring five straight points to forge ahead 11-8. West Liberty was able to pull to back within two on two different occassions, but the Cardinals managed to hold on for their fifth-straight MEC Tournament title.

Wheeling Jesuit (31-5) earns the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament that will be held in two weeks. West Liberty concludes its season with a 20-14 record. 

The Hilltoppers came out strong winning the first set, 25-21. The Toppers led by nine midway through the set, 20-11, before a late surge by WJU, but a kill from Olivia Baumhoer closed things out for the 'Toppers. 

Wheeling Jesuit responded in a big way in the second set winning 25-13 to even the match at 1-1. The Cards pulled away midway through the third set in a 25-18 win. West Liberty broke a 9-9 tie in the fourth set with a 9-2 run to help push the match to the decisive fifth set.

Cassie Meyer had a match-high 24 kills in the victory, and Maddy Smyth added 15. Kenzie Schroer conributed 11 kills. Audrey Francis had a team-high 26 digs, while Emily Reedy contributed 24. Stephanie Sylvester had 62 assists and 19 digs.

West Liberty was paced by 18 kills from Baumhoer, and Stephanie Leonard had 13 kills. Kailee Cunningham had 27 digs for the 'Toppers. 

MEC All-Tournament Team
Katlynn Dunlap (Urbana)
Carly Granger (Charleston)
Olivia Baumhoer (West Liberty)
Kailee Cunningham (West Liberty)
Raimey Benson (West Liberty)
Haley Kramer (Wheeling Jesuit)
Maddy Smyth (Wheeling Jesuit)
Cassie Meyer (Wheeling Jesuit)
Stephanie Sylvester (Wheeling Jesuit)