Wheeling, W. Va. - After capturing the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship earlier this season, the Wheeling University Volleyball team (27-5, 15-1) begins their road to Tampa in the 2021 NCAA Division II Volleyball Atlantic Regional Championship tournament. As the host insititution, Wheeling has the advantage of getting to play all of their games on their home floor, a place where they have played very well this season.
They enter the tournament as the #1 seed and will open tournament play on Thursday when they battle the #8 seed Fayetteville at 7:30 pm. This will be the first full regional tournament since the 2019 season, when Wheeling also hosted in the Alma Grace McDonough Center. In total, eight teams will converge to Wheeling, West Virginia with the winner getting to head to the 2021 NCAA Volleyball National Championship game in Tampa, Florida.
Wheeling's road to the championship tournament once again went through the MEC playoffs, where they won their ninth consecutive MEC title. They started the tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Frostburg State and fought back to pick up back-to-back 3-1 wins over rival West Liberty and West Virginia State to clinch the championship. They have an overall record of 27-5 this season and were picked #1 for three consecutive weeks in the Atlantic Regional Pole leading up to the tournament. Wheeling is hoping to ride that #1 ranking and get back to the NCAA National Tournament for the first time since the 2018 season.
Leading the way on offense for Wheeling is 2021 All-MEC First Team selection Lexi Reinert. Reinert comes into the tournament with 263 kills and an average of 2.39 kills/set. She is supplemented by two All-MEC Honorable Mentions in Lexi Smith and Mady Winters who help lead Wheeling's Middle Blockers. Winters leads the team with 291 kills this season, while Smith has the third highest hitting percentage in the MEC at .337. On the defensive side, the reigning MEC Libero of the Year Audrey Francis helps pace the back line with 761 digs, and an average of 6.68 digs per set.
The Atlantic Regional Tournament is a three-day event running for Thursday, December 2nd, to Saturday, December 4th. During that time, teams will participate in a single-elimination tournament. On day one four games will be played (12, 2:30, 5, and 7:30) followed by the semifinal round on Friday (5 and 7:30) and the Championships on Saturday (7 PM). There will also be press conferences following all the games with the advancing team speaking first and the eliminated team second, with the excpetion of the championship game which will be flipped. Follow along throughout the tournament by visiting the TOURNAMENT CENTRAL page complete with all the links you need for your teams.
The Matchup:
The history of this series between Wheeling and Fayetteville State has weighed heavily toward the Cardinals. In only three previous match-ups, Wheeling has won each. Each time they have faced off has been in the Atlantic Regional Tournament, and they renew their rivalry once again in the 2021 tournament field.
Both teams met up in December of 2019. Wheeling cruised to a victory, with former Cardinals Breanna and Haley Kramer leading the way as each had 11 kills on the evening. Now senior, Audrey Francis also contributed, as she led the team with 12 digs. The 2021 Wheeling Cardinals look to have similar success this time around.
The Details:
Tip-Off for Friday's game is scheduled for 7:30 PM. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
