INSTITUTE, W.VA. -- West Virginia State Volleyball completely battled Saturday in the championship match of the Mountain East Conference Tournament, falling to defending champions Wheeling 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 24-26, 23-25) in the Walker Convocation Center.

The Yellow Jackets finish the season at 29-4, and will await their fate for a NCAA Regional berth on the NCAA Selection Show, slated for Monday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m. Fans can watch the show on ncaa.com. 

Saturday's appearance in the title match was the first for State since the league's inception in 2013. 

Sophomore Alex Darby was dynamic on the back line for State, tallying a career-high 39 digs in the contest. Senior Gabrielle Bullock tallied 17 kills on a .302 hitting percentage, while classmate Jenna Dufresne added 16 kills to accompany 12 digs, posting her fourth consecutive double-double and 14th on the season. 

Sophomore Kiersten Eggleton recorded her second triple-double of the year with 12 kills, 35 assists, and 15 digs. Sophomore Natalie Beer and senior Grace Martin each posted six blocks. 

After slipping behind 6-3 in the opening stanza, the Yellow jackets took three straight points on a kill from Martin, a Wheeling error, and a block from the duo of Beer and Eggleton to even things at 6-6. State continued to pressure, adding a 5-0 run in a sequence that featured kills from Bullock and senior J'Lana Stone, and a kill and block from Beer, to put WVSU in control at 11-9 and force a Wheeling timeout.  

Wheeling remained in striking distance, tying things at 15-15 after four straight kills.  State began to build a lead once again after going up 20-17 on back-to-back kills from the 1,000 Kill Club duo of Bullock and Dufresne. The Cardinals climbed back to within one point at 20-19 and forced Kern and crew to call for a huddle. State returned from the timeout with momentum, riding a 5-2 run (with another pair of kills from Bullock) to the end to secure the opening set 25-21.

Bullock tallied six slams during the first set, hitting at a .333 clip. 

WVSU kept the same hype heading into the second set, going up 9-4 and maintaining that cushion after an Alex Darby ace left them with a three-point advantage at 12-9. The Cardinals responded with an 11-4 run, including a four-point rally,  to tie the set and take the lead, going up 21-18. 

After a rejection from the veteran group of Stone and Martin caught the Yellow Jackets up to within one point at 22-21, Wheeling again called for a timeout. A Grace Martin slam returned the squads to a 23-23 stalemate, but Wheeling stole the set and evened the contest after a pair of kills for a 25-23 mark. 

Darby was outstanding, tallying 16 digs in the second frame alone. 

After a pair of kills from Dufresne and a slam by Eggleton opened the third frame with a 3-0 lead for State and then going up by four at 9-5, the two squads began a game of cat-and-mouse, trading points and enduring 18 total ties through the remainder of the frame.

The tension was as high as ever in the final points of the set, after State pulled ahead 22-21 before Wheeling supplied a block and kill to regain the lead at 23-22 and sent State into their final timeout of the frame.

A huge slam from Bullock tied the contest once more at 23 all and then a Cardinal miscue brought WVSU to set point. Wheeling tied the set yet again, and then took the driver's seat for their own set point at 25-24, then securing a 2-1 match lead after a 26-24 score. 

Wheeling opened up the fourth with a 7-1 lead and continued to carry the momentum. State worked to trim the deficit, as back-to-back Cardinal attack errors, combined with an Eggleton kill, narrowed the gap to 11-7. 

State continued to climb back, closing the Cardinals' lead to just two points at 16-14 after a Bullock kill. Back-to-back slams from Dufresne brought the Yellow Jackets to within one at 17-16. After Wheeling added cushion at 20-17, an Eggleton kill and Dufresne ace again brought the team to within one as they continued to battle and pressure. 

A block from Bullock and Martin tied the set at 22-22, but back-to-back kills brought the Cardinals to match point. Another block from the duo kept State alive at 24-23, but a rejection from the Cardinals delivered the 25-23 victory and kept the title with Wheeling.