BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — The Mountain East Conference Volleyball Championship semifinal is set.
On day one of the eight-team event Thursday, host West Virginia Wesleyan, along with the University of Charleston, Concord, and West Virginia State, advanced to the semifinals. The MEC North Division top seed, West Liberty, has been eliminated, along with 11-time MEC tournament champion Wheeling.
Friday’s semifinals, which will also be held at the Rockefeller Center on West Virginia Wesleyan’s campus, are set to begin at 5 p.m. with the host Bobcats against West Virginia State. The nightcap will feature upset-minded Concord against Charleston.
All matches are streamed on MountainEast.tv, and scores and recaps can be found on mountaineast.org.
#2S Charleston def. #3N Wheeling, 3-2 (22-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-12, 15-12)
Wheeling won the first two sets, but the University of Charleston took control from there.
The Cardinals, who won 11 straight MEC tournament titles until last season’s runner-up finish, were ousted in the quarterfinals for the first time. Wheeling (16-14) shared the 2025 MEC North Division title with Fairmont State and West Liberty.
UC (21-12) shared the 2025 MEC South Division title with West Virginia Wesleyan, this year’s hosts. The Golden Eagles were down two sets and trailing 8-4 in the third when momentum shifted. After 14-14 in the third, a kill by Divine Muo ignited a four-point run for UC.
The fourth set was tied, 5-5, when back-to-back kills by Sophia Knowles and Matea Cunningham helped UC win eight of the next nine points. Consecutive kills by Patrycja Majos ballooned the Golden Eagles’ lead from 14-8 to 17-8, and then four straight kills by Abby Avila, Knowles (two), and Majos put the fourth set out of reach.
In the decisive fifth set, the Cardinals held a lead, 8-7, before a run of four points shifted momentum again. Muo and Knowles closed out the match with back-to-back kills to put the Golden Eagles into Friday’s semifinals.
#4S Concord def. #1N West Liberty, 3-2 (25-21, 26-24, 21-25, 18-25, 17-15)
The fourth-seeded Mountain Lions delivered the biggest upset blow of the first round.
Concord stormed out to a two-set lead, then held on in the decisive fifth set to advance to Friday’s semifinals.
In the fifth set, the teams were tied at 11-11, 12-12, 13-13, 14-14, and 15-15 before Concord (21-8) won consecutive points to seal the match. The Hilltoppers (18-13) were the No. 1 seed in the North after sharing the division title with Wheeling and Fairmont State.
Meg Williams tallied 20 kills for Concord, along with 17 digs. Addison Adkins added 17 kills and five digs. Allie Davis led the way defensively with 28 digs.
Kaiya Lian paced the Pioneers with 12 kills, while Cali Queen finished with 16 digs.
#1S West Virginia Wesleyan def. #4S Glenville State, 3-1 (25-23, 26-28, 25-22, 25-20)
The hosts and top overall seed survived a split of the first two sets to advance to Friday’s semifinals.
In the opening set, Glenville State held a 23-22 lead before the Bobcats reeled off three consecutive points, including the final two on kills from MacKenna Halfin and Bhrooke Axe.
In the second set, West Virginia Wesleyan (20-8) tied the set at 26-26 before the Pioneers (13-18) won back-to-back points to even the match.
But from there, the host Bobcats took control, winning the final three points of the third set, and then the final four points of the fourth set to reach the semifinals.
Emily Denison led West Virginia Wesleyan with 23 kills and 11 digs. Axe added 16 kills, Halfin had 13 kills, and Emonie Fennell recorded 10 kills and five digs. Defensively, Alexis Moeschler had 15 digs.
#3S West Virginia State def. #2N Fairmont State, 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 17-25, 25-22)
The Yellow Jackets used a seven-point run late in the fourth set to oust the second-seeded Falcons.
West Virginia State (16-12), the defending MEC Volleyball tournament champs, won the first two sets and rallied in the fourth to advance to Friday’s semifinals. The Yellow Jackets trailed, 19-16, in the fourth set before the seven-point rally shifted momentum to the third seed from the MEC South Division.
Fairmont State, which had 2025 MEC Player of the Year Joey Borelle and the MEC Libero of the Year Josie Skinn honored prior to Thursday’s quarterfinal, fell to 23-10.
For West Virginia State, Nicole Gartner Custodio and Alyssa Hill each had 17 kills. Defensively, Carmen Perez and Emma Pomaret led the way with 18 digs apiece. Perez finished with a double-double, tallying 15 kills to go along with her digs.
Borelle led the Falcons with 19 kills and 18 digs. Skinn finished with a team-high 19 digs.