WHEELING, W.Va. (Nov. 22) – The California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by No. 11 Wheeling Jesuit in the Atlantic Regional Championship for the fourth-straight year, dropping a 3-1 match (25-21, 20-25, 25-18, 25-9) on Saturday night.

With the loss, the Vulcans finish the year with a 30-9 overall record. Cal U has advanced to the regional championship in nine-straight years and has recorded at least 30 wins nine times in the past 10 years. Meanwhile, Wheeling Jesuit earns its fourth-consecutive regional title and improves to 38-3 this year.

Senior Laurel Miller (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) led the team with 14 kills and eclipsed 1,000 career kills in the match. She is one of only 10 players in program history to reach the milestone after amassing 963 kills over the last two seasons. Junior Mary Lavery (La Plata, Md./La Plata) added 11 kills on a .265 hitting percentage, while freshman Ashley Leto (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) and sophomore Danielle Hayes (Erie, Pa./McDowell) finished with nine and seven kills, respectively. Sophomore Megan Litoborski (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) guided the offense with 38 assists and tallied 13 digs for her 15th assist/dig double-double of the season.

Senior Samantha Rudy (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) collected a team-high 20 digs and was one of five players with double-digit digs on Saturday. Miller tallied 14 digs for her 21st kill/dig double-double of the year, while senior Taylor Melidona (Rochester, N.Y./Irondequoit) and Leto posted 13 and 12 digs, respectively. At the net, junior Miranda Fouzie (Kingston, Ontario/Sydenham) totaled four blocks, while the trio of Hayes, Leto and Litoborski each collected multiple blocks.

Cal U was limited to a minus .042 hitting percentage in the first set after committing 12 attacking errors. The Vulcans won three of initial four points before the Cardinals rallied off three-straight points to take a 4-3 lead. Cal U countered by winning seven of the next nine points to take a 10-6 lead on an attacking error. The Cardinals answered by claiming seven-unanswered points to take a 13-10 lead before the Vulcans won seven of 10 points to reclaim the lead at 17-16 on an attacking error. Wheeling Jesuit later won eight of 10 points, including four-straight to close the set, to earn a 25-21 victory. The first set of the regional championship match featured a combined five lead changes and 10 ties.

In the second set, the Vulcans registered a .280 hitting percentage behind a combined 10 kills from Leto and Miller. The teams traded points early in the second set before the Vulcans mounted a 6-2 run to take a 9-7 lead on a block assist by Hayes and Leto. Cal U later mounted a 6-3 rally to increase its lead to 15-11 on a kill by Lavery before Wheeling Jesuit called a timeout. The Cardinals responded by winning four of the next five points to cut the deficit to 16-15. Cal U answered by claiming three-straight points to take a 19-15 lead on a kill by Leto before Wheeling Jesuit called another timeout. The Cardinals countered by winning four of the next five points to cut the deficit to 20-19. After the teams traded points, Cal U claimed four-straight points to post a 25-20 win on an attacking error. With the set victory, the Vulcans snapped a 50-set winning streak by the Cardinals that spanned 18 matches and dated back to October 17.

The teams traded the opening four points in the third set before Cal U won four of five points to take a 6-3 lead on a kill by Leto. The Cardinals countered with a 7-2 run to take a 10-8 lead and forced the Vulcans to call a timeout. Cal U won the initial point after the timeout before Wheeling Jesuit claimed four of the next five points to take a 14-10 lead. After a kill by Lavery, the Cardinals mounted a 5-2 rally to extend their lead to 19-13 before the Vulcans called a timeout. The teams traded the next three points before Wheeling Jesuit claimed five of the last eight points to earn a 25-18 victory. The Vulcans committed only four attacking errors in the fourth set; however, the Cardinals hit at a .286 clip.

The Cardinals held the lead for the entire fourth set behind an impressive .350 hitting percentage after totaling just two attacking errors. Wheeling Jesuit earned the initial four points of the fourth set before the teams traded the next five points. The Cardinals then claimed three-straight points to take a 9-3 lead and forced the Vulcans to call their second timeout. Cal U responded with four-unanswered points to cut the deficit to 9-7 on a kill by Lavery. After the teams traded points, Wheeling Jesuit seized control of the match by earning 10-consecutive points to take a 20-8 lead. The Vulcans snapped the streak with a block assist before the Cardinals sealed the match victory with a 25-9 win after claiming the final five points.

Wheeling Jesuit advances to face No. 1 Tampa from the South Region in Louisville, Kentucky, on Dec. 4 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.