WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team closed out its home schedule here Tuesday night with a 3-0 loss to No. 15-ranked Wheeling at the ASRC.
    Coach Kayla Mull's Hilltoppers (15-14, 7-7) fell behind early with a 25-16 loss in the opening set but a fast start in set number two saw the Black and Gold lead by as many as three points on multiple occasions before the Cardinals (26-3, 14-0) came storming back for a 25-21 win.
    Wheeling – which has never lost a Mountain East Conference match since the formation of the league – flashed its nationally ranked muscles in the third set, rocketing out to a whopping 20-3 lead before closing things out by a 25-13 final margin.
    Senior Olivia Baumhoer led the Black and Gold with a dozen kills – 10 of them in the opening set – while hitting a solid .258 for the match. Kirsten Bogunovich had 14 assists while Alissa Dickson and Kailee Cunningham finished with 14 and 13 digs, respectively.
    The Hilltoppers close out the regular season on the road this weekend, traveling to Glenville State for a 6 p.m. match on Friday before heading south to Concord on Saturday for a 9 a.m. season finale.
    Wheeling has clinched another MEC regular season championship and will host the 2019 MEC Tournament Nov. 21-23 at the McDonough Center. Tournament pairings will be announced at the conclusion of this weekend's final regular season matches.