ERIE, Pa. — The Mountain East Conference’s two NCAA Women’s Volleyball Atlantic Regional participants, Wheeling University and West Virginia State University, advanced to the semifinals with wins in the event’s opening round Thursday at the Hagerty Family Events Center.
 
No. 3 Wheeling will face No. 2 Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in Friday’s first semifinal, which is scheduled for 4 p.m. No. 1 Gannon, the hosts, will face No. 5 WVSU in the nightcap, which is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
 
Quarterfinal #1: Wheeling def. Pitt-Johnstown, 3-1 | Box Score
 
Wheeling opened Thursday’s quarterfinal action with a four-set win: 25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 25-21. The Cardinals improved to 26-9, avenging a quarterfinal loss in the tournament a season ago.
 
Senior outside hitter Riley Kindall, an MEC first team all-conference selection, finished with 26 kills and a .345 hitting percentage. She also racked up a team-high 16 digs, giving her 19 double-doubles on the season. MEC Freshman of the Year Olivia Batch added 14 kills and 10 digs, while senior setter Karly Niesen finished with 52 assists and 13 digs.
 
The Cardinals overcame a 10-7 deficit in the opening set to take a 1-0 lead.
 
Wheeling again rallied in the second set overcoming an 11-9 deficit before hanging on to take a 2-0 lead.
 
After squandering a 9-2 lead in the third set, Wheeling controlled the fourth set, staving off a late rally by UPJ that closed the gap to 3 points, 23-20, before the Cardinals closed out the match and advanced in the three-day event.

Quarterfinal #4: West Virginia State def. Clarion, 3-2 | Box Score
 
The MEC South Division regular season champions and MEC tournament champions, fifth-seeded West Virginia State, took the first two games from Clarion but needed all five sets to advance.
 
WVSU took the first and second sets, 25-20 and 25-19, respectively, before getting into a lengthy third set. The Yellow Jackets fought off two set points, had a match point of their own up 27-26, and then watched as Clarion won three points in a row to win the third set, 29-27.  After Clarion took the fourth set, 25-23, it was the Yellow Jackets who prevailed, 16-14.
 
West Virginia State was led in kills by Baby Moleni (15), Maureen Mathews (14), and Hannah Steele (11). MEC Player of the Year, Kiersten Eggleton, recorded a team-highs in assists (45) and digs (20). Steele and libero Morgan Caba each added 12 digs.
 
The Yellow Jackets are now 24-10 on the season and have won 14 consecutive matches dating back to Oct. 15 — a 3-1 loss to the University of Charleston.