WISE - -  Boosted by strong fellow student-athlete support in attendance, the UVa-Wise volleyball team kept its hopes of making the Mountain East Conference Volleyball Tournament alive on Friday with a 3-1 (25-11, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19) win over West Virginia Wesleyan at the Prior Center. With the win, the Cavaliers will at worst enter Saturday's regular season finale against Glenville State tied with Concord University for the eighth and final tournament berth.

Leading 6-5 in the opening set, UVa-Wise (13-14, 6-9 MEC) went on an 18-5 run to coast to the 25-11 set one victory. Senior Veronica Sanchez handed out six of her team-high 19 assists in the set while Erin Anderson tallied six digs in the match opener.

West Virginia Wesleyan (10-11, 9-6 MEC) tied the match in the second set by scoring back-to-back points to surge to a 23-20 lead. The lead would hold as Stacie Baumann and Erin Bond had kills to finish off the set.

The Cavaliers responded in the third, after falling behind 10-5, the home team rallied to forge a tie at 18-18. UVa-Wise would take the lead thanks to a pair of attack errors by Wesleyan coach Kristen Salyer's squad would score three consecutive points with Sanchez in service. Anderson finished off the set with a service ace to put the Cavs one set away from victory.

Set four again saw UVa-Wise overcome an early deficit, this time Wesleyan raced out to a 4-1 advantage. Any hope the Bobcats had of forcing a fifth set would vanish as senior Brittni Atlmann teamed with Anderson to record six digs each. Karley Allen added five kills, three assists, and two digs in the 25-19 win.

Allen, Anderson, and Ashley Hooven  all recorded a double-double in the key victory. Allen posted 18 kills and 12 digs while Anderson tallied 11 kills and 17 digs. Allen led all players in kills while Anderson posted a match-high in digs. Hooven handed out 16 assists and registered 10 digs.

For UVa-Wise to make the tournament the team must defeat Glenville State at home tomorrow at 3 pm and have Concord lose one of its final two remaining games. The Cavs can also make the field with a pair of losses by the Mountain Lions.

Tomorrow's Senior Day ceremonies will honor seniors Sanchez, Altmann, and Hooven. You can catch the action live on www.uvawisecavs.com