West Liberty University Athletics

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The West Liberty University volleyball team saw its Mountain East Conference Tournament run come to an end tonight in an all-north-division semifinal, as Wheeling, the #1 seed, downed the third-seeded Hilltoppers, 3-1.

West Liberty hit .306 in the opening set to claim the 1-0 lead. The first three rallies of the night were won by the Black and Gold as they built an early advantage. Wheeling climbed ahead for the first time in the match at 15-14, but three Hilltopper points ensued. A 4-0 run helped gain some late breathing room for West Liberty at 22-17 and Riley Cudnik slammed the final three kills of the set for the 25-20 win.

The Hilltoppers jumped ahead 11-5 in set two, but it would not be that easy in a semifinal match. The Cardinals chipped away, then took the lead back and more with a 5-0 spurt to make it 22-18. West Liberty tried a late comeback with three consecutive kills, but it was not enough as Wheeling evened the match with a 25-22 victory.

A back-and-forth battle in the third got separated after eight straight Cardinal points and they held on 25-17. Wheeling put the match away with a 25-19 set four. The Cardinals jolted ahead 15-5 early, however the Hilltoppers did not quit. A 5-0 and 4-0 run mixed in brought the set back within three, but the deficit proved to be too much.

Liv McAtee led three Hilltoppers in double-digits with 13 kills. Kirsten Bogunovich filled up the stat sheet posting a 12-kill, 28-assist double-double along with three aces, all coming in a row early in set one, as well as three block assists. Cudnik ended the night with 12 kills. Haley Zeck dished out 26 assists.

Nyia Setla charted a match-high 20 digs on the back line for the Hilltoppers. At the net, WLU had six blocks, led by Countryman with three total, two of which solo.

Ranked 7th in the Atlantic Region, West Liberty built up its resume more this week at the MEC Tournament and will await the NCAA Tournament selection show, which is scheduled for 10:30 pm Sunday night, to see if the season will continue.

Follow Hilltopper Volleyball online at HilltopperSports.com as well as on Twitter (@WLU_Volleyball | @WLathletics), Instagram (@wlu_volleyball | @wlu_athletics), and Facebook.