WHEELING – After missing out on the NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Tournament a year ago, the Wheeling University Volleyball team has been using spring ball to grow their young group. In 2026, the Cardinals are looking to get back to the Regional Championship stage and took one step closer to getting on the court with the release of their 2026 Schedule. The 29-match stretch will feature plenty of opportunities for Cardinal fans to come cheer on their team, with 17 home matches including two home tournaments to start the season.

In 2025, the Cardinals had one of their youngest groups in recent history, with 10 freshmen joining the fold. Despite the youth, the Cardinals continued to challenge themselves in the non-conference schedule, heading to the University of West Florida and Grand Valley State, going 0-7 during the stretch. They would come home for the Mountain East Conference (MEC)/Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover, and got back on track with a 3-1 weekend. They would take their conference opener against West Virginia State, and started 4-0 in MEC play. After dropping the first seven matches of the year, Wheeling would win eight of their next nine matches, and evened their record to open October. Back-to-back MEC losses would put a dent in their streak, but Wheeling held a lead in the MEC North coming down to the final match of the season.

They would host West Liberty in a five-set battle, and the Cardinals fell 3-2. They would earn a share of theEC North championship, splitting the honor with West Liberty and Fairmont State, and would end up earning the #2 seed from the MEC North Division. They would draw the #2 seed from the South in their first round match-up, The University of Charleston, to tip-off the MEC Volleyball Championships. Wheeling would get out to a hot start, winning the first two sets of the day by scores of 25-22 and 25-23, and looked for the sweep heading into set three. However, the Golden Eagles found their stride, winning each of the final three sets to complete the reverse sweep of the Cardinals. It brought Wheeling’s season to an end, as they missed out on the regional tournament field. The Cardinals were able to get their freshmen into real match situations throughout the year, and they look to build on that experience in 2026.

The 2026 season begins the same way as the past several years, with Wheeling traveling to Pensacola, Florida for the West Florida Invitational. They open the season with a DI match-up against West Florida on August 27th, and will battle Southwest Minnesota State twice during the weekend before wrapping up with Spring Hill College. Wheeling opens September with their biggest home stretch, hosting the Wheeling Quad and the MEC/PSAC Crossover in back-to-back weeks. The first of the two tournaments will feature several Wheeling alumni coming back to the Alma Grace McDonough Center, including CAL-U Head Coach, and former Cardinal, Audrey Emerich, and UINDY Head Coach, and former Cardinal, Haley Kindall. The weekend opens with the Cardinals taking on Point Park and CAL-U on Friday, and Ursuline and UINDY on Saturday.

The second home weekend will see the Cardinals host their annual MEC/PSAC Crossover in conjunction with West Liberty. Wheeling will play one match per day, taking in Gannon (9/10), Shippensburg (9/11), and Clarion (9/12). With the tournament wrapped up, the Cardinals will open the MEC schedule on September 18th with a Friday night match-up with West Virginia State. The Cardinals will continue their heavy home month following the tournament schedule, with four of their final five matches of September coming on their home floor. They will host Fairmont State on September 22nd, before hitting the road to face Point Park on the 25th. They come home the next day for a non-conference match against Malone, and wrap up September at home against Frostburg State on September 29th.

After being at home for a good portion of September, the Cardinals will hit the road to start October to face Davis & Elkins. They will open “The Battle for Wheeling” on October 6th inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center, before hitting the road to face West Virginia Wesleyan and Glenville State that weekend. Wheeling will hit a three-match home stretch in the middle of the month, starting with a non-conference meeting wit IUP on October 13th, and moving into a weekend set against Concord (10/16) and the first-ever MEC meeting with Shawnee State (10/17). They follow that week with a three-game road week, where they will travel to Fairmont State (10/20), Charleston (10/23), and Frostburg State (10/26). They wrap up their home schedule against Davis & Elkins (10/30) and a senior day special against Point Park on November 2nd, before they end the season on the road against Point Park on November 5th.

The Wheeling University Volleyball team tips-off the 2026 season on Thursday, August 27th, when they take on West Florida with tip-off at 7 PM.