• Tournament Central | Bracket
• Final Stats

INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- Wheeling dropped the first set, but then edged West Virginia State in the next three to win the 2021 MEC Volleyball Tournament title on Saturday night at the Walker Convocation Center on the WVSU campus.

The even statistics accurately reflect how close the match was on Saturday night. Wheeling had a slight edge in kills (70-67) and digs (105-101), and both teams had 66 assists. West Virginia State had a higher hitting percentage, .249-.234, and also had the edge in blocks, 11-6. After four sets of play, the two teams were separated by just two total points scored (97-95).

Gabrielle Bullock's six kills helped West Virginia State take the first set, 25-21. In the second set with the match tied at 23-23, Wheeling's Lexi Reinert had the kill to make it 24-23, and Tylah Yeomans had the final point for the Cardinals to win it, 25-23.

The fourth set saw 18 ties and seven lead changes. The match was tied at 17-17, 18-18, 19-19, 20-20, 21-21, 22-22, 23-23 and 24-24. West Virginia State had a set point at 24-23, but Kayla Bekier had a kill to tie it back up. Bekier then finished the set off on two more kills on assists from Karly Niesen to give Wheeling the pivotal set. 

Wheeling took control early in the fourth set and led by six on multiple occassions. WVSU battled back, though, and pulled back to within one at 18-17 and eventually tied teh match at 22-22. The Cardinals refused to give the lead back as Bekier had a kill and Mady Winters hit home another to make it 24-22. After an error from Wheeling, the Cardinals closed the match on a block by Winters and Reinert.

Bekier led Wheeling with 18 kills, but was followed closely in the category by Winters (17) and Lexi Smith (14). Niesen dished out 62 assists as the team hit .234. Audrey Francis had 30 digs and Jenna Franks had 20. 

Bullock led WVSU with 18 kills, followed by 16 from Jenna Dufresne. Kiersten Eggleton had 12 kills, 35 assists and 15 digs. Alex Darby had a match-high 39 digs, and Grace Martin was in on six blocks. Bullock also had six blocks for the Yellow Jackets. 

Wheeling earns the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. West Virginia State is 29-4 and will have to wait to see if it is selected for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. 

All-Tournament Team
Sage Bearnson, Charleston
Riley Cudnik, West Liberty
Natalie Beer, W.Va. State
Jenna Dufresne, W.Va. State
Audrey Francis, Wheeling
Lexi Smith, Wheeling
Mady Winters, Wheeling