*Tournament Central
 
WHEELING, W.Va.—Sixth-seeded West Liberty upset second-seeded Charleston and Wheeling Jesuit, the number one seed, prevailed in a five-set thriller against fifth-seeded Urbana to advance to the Mountain East Volleyball Championship. 
 
The Cardinals and Hilltoppers will battle for the MEC Tournament crown on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.  The match will be streamed online at MountainEast.tv.
 
  #6 West Liberty def. #2 Charleston, 3-1 (25-18, 18-25, 25-20, 25-11) | Final Stats 
 WLU Postgame | UC Postgame
 
WHEELING, W.Va. – Sixth-seeded West Liberty came through with its second upset in as many days after topping Charleston 3-1 (25-18, 18-25, 25-20, 25-11) in the MEC Volleyball Tournament Semifinals.
 
The Golden Eagles grabbed the momentum early in the first set after racing to a 7-2 lead.  The Hilltoppers regrouped to knot the score 12-12 after a kill by Caitlyn Clark.  With the score tied 13-13, West Liberty used Olivia Baumhoer’s kill and a Charleston attack error for a 15-13 lead.  The Golden Eagles stayed close on the Hilltoppers’ heels through the home stretch of set one, but a late 7-3 run lifted West Liberty to the 25-18 set win.  
 
Charleston answered back in set two.  Trailing 15-14 at the midway point, a Hilltopper service error sparked an 11-3 run for the Golden Eagles, allowing Charleston to capture the 25-18 set win. 
 
In the third set, both teams battled for control.  West Liberty pulled away 13-7 before Charleston regrouped to pull within one point (15-14).  West Liberty capitalized on a Golden Eagle error on the next play and maintained a comfortable advantage before securing the 25-20 win on a service ace.
 
West Liberty jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in the fourth set.  The Hilltoppers held a commanding 18-7 advantage before securing the win on a kill by Raimey Benson. 
 
Baumhoer led the effort with a match-high 14 kills for the Hilltoppers.  Amanda Leonard handed out 22 assists in the win with Kailee Cunningham notching 19 digs. 
 
Carly Granger paced Charleston with 13 kills in the setback.  Chloe Massaro recorded 21 assists on the evening with Tori Clark tallying 16 digs for the Golden Eagles. 

West Liberty advances to the Championship with a 20-13 record while Charleston ends the year with a 17-14 mark. 

#1 Wheeling Jesuit def. #5 Urbana, 3-2 (24-26, 25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 16-14) | Final Stats 
 WJU Postgame | UU Postgame 
 
WHEELING, W.Va.—Top-seeded Wheeling Jesuit survived a five-set thriller against fifth-seeded Urbana to advance to the MEC Championship.  With the 3-2 (24-26, 25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 16-14) victory, the Cardinals maintain an unblemished tournament record and advance to their fifth-straight title match. 
 
Wheeling Jesuit built a narrow 10-7 lead at the start of the first set before a 9-1 run by Urbana left the Cardinals trailing 16-11.  Both teams battled to hold on to the momentum down the final stretch of set one.  With the score tied 24-24, a kill by Anna Davis and service ace by Deandra Atwood allowed the Blue Knights to capture the 26-24 set win. 

In the second set, the Cardinals raced to a 5-1 advantage at the start and maintained the momentum.  The Blue Knights were unable to recover from the early deficit and suffered the 25-16 setback. 
 
Wheeling Jesuit continued to build on the momentum in set three.  Trailing 16-14, the Cardinals rattled off eight of the next ten points to pull away 22-18.  With a 24-21 advantage, a kill by Stephanie Sylvester secured the 25-21 set win for Wheeling Jesuit and left Urbana trailing 2-1 in the match.

Down but not out, Urbana evened the score in set four.  With the score tied 9-9, the Blue Knights orchestrated an 8-3 run to pull away 17-12 by the midway point.  Wheeling Jesuit refused to go away quietly, chipping away at the deficit before knotting the score 23-23.  A kill by Kaitlynn Dunlap and an attack error by the Cardinals secured the 25-23 win for Urbana, forcing a fifth set.
 
The Blue Knights built on the momentum at the start of set five and quickly built an 8-4 advantage.  After a quick timeout, the Cardinals recovered with a 10-4 run to gain a 14-12 lead.  A Wheeling Jesuit attack error and kill by Aleese Butler knotted the score 14-14 before a kill by Cassie Meyer and a Blue Knight attack error secured the 16-14 win for the Cardinals. 

Katlynn Dunlap recorded 22 kills in the loss for Urbana while Anna Davis notched 34 assists.  Maia Dunlap notched 18 digs over the course of the contest. 
 
Maddy Smith and Haley Kramer each tallied 19 kills in the win for Wheeling Jesuit.  Stephanie Sylvester handed out 64 assists with Audrey Francis grabbing 28 digs for the Cardinals. 
 
Wheeling Jesuit advances to the MEC Championship with a 30-5 overall record while Urbana ends the year with a 19-17 mark.