Box Score
WHEELING, W. Va. – Oh so close.
 
No. 1 seed Wheeling Jesuit, the 18^th ranked team in the nation, rallied from a 2-1 deficit to knock off Clarion 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 19-25, 26-24, 15-10) in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region semifinals Friday night in Wheeling.
 
“I'm proud of them,” Clarion head coach Jennifer Mills said. “We played probably one of the best matches we played all season. We fought hard and were competitive. The girls did a very nice job of keeping Wheeling from running the type of offense they are used to running. Wheeling is a very well coached, very good team to push them to five on the road was an awesome match to be a part of.”
 
Clarion (24-12), the fourth seed, had four players reach double digits in kills led by Carlie Bieranowski's 13 kills (she added 18 digs) and fought Wheeling Jesuit (37-2) down to the very end but could never overcome an early 4-0 deficit in the fifth-and-deciding set.
 
Wheeling jumped out to the 4-0 lead in the fifth set after winning an incredibly tight fourth set 26-24. Clarion was able to get back within a point, 6-5 thanks in part to a pair of Hannah Heeter kills, but the 7-2 run by the Cardinals that was aided by four Clarion errors helped Wheeling take control of the set at 13-7.
 
“We were out of system in the fifth set,” Mills said. “A lot of it was ball control. We were setting back row balls which made things a little tougher for us, and Wheeling got on a really good run.”  
 
Clarion tried to rally and got back within four, 14-10, but that was as close as it got.
 
The match very well may have been decided in the fourth set that saw 15 ties and five lead changes with neither team gaining an advantage by more than three points (Wheeling 16-13).
 
Clarion led in the fourth set, 20-18, following a kill and then a service ace by Rebecca Webb before Wheeling rolled off a 4-0 run to go up 22-18. But the Golden Eagles knotted the set at 22, 23 and 24 but could never gain the lead, and the Cardinals finally scored the final two points to send the match to the deciding fifth set.
 
“It was tough,” Mills said. “I honestly thought we had them in the fourth set. We were up two, and Emily Stewart got hurt and had to come out. That hurt us a little bit for sure.”
 
Stewart had 12 kills and 10 digs for Clarion before leaving with the injury with Hannah Heeter chipping in 10 kills while hitting .318 (10 kills, 3 errors, 22 attempts). Corinne Manley also had 10 kills while Webb had nine kills. Laura Subject ran the offense with 45 set assists while adding 11 digs, and Rebecca Ferragonio had 36 digs.
 
WVIAC Player of the Year Jenna Pew paced Wheeling Jesuit with 16 kills, 22 set assists and eight digs, while Allissa Ware had 11 kills and 18 digs. Madiston Strall, who had the deciding kill in the fourth set, chipped in with seven kills, 30 assists and eight digs, while Corrin Early had 15 digs and six kills and Makenzie Ripley 28 digs.
 
“I think we played our best volleyball in the NCAA Tournament,” Mills said. “I couldn't be prouder of the team. They had a rough patch coming into the tournament, and they were able to come back after the break and be rejuvenated. The way they represented themselves and the program, it was a really good match and it was a great season.” I don't think anyone expected us to be this competitive at the end of the season, especially after not playing our best volleyball down the stretch.”  
 
Wheeling will face California, a 3-1 upset winner over PSAC champion Gannon, in the Regional championship at 7 p.m. Saturday in Wheeling with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.     
 
NOTES – The match was a battle between the last two Atlantic Region champions. Clarion won the Region in 2010 and Wheeling last year … Wheeling beat Clarion 3-0 in Clarion Oct. 27.