Noelle Carota collected 13 kills and a block, but the University of Charleston (WV) jumped out to a two-set lead and went on to a 3-sets-to-1 victory over Pitt-Johnstown to tip-off the 2018 West Liberty/Wheeling Jesuit Conference Crossover Volleyball Tournament in Wheeling, W.Va.
 
The Golden Eagles took the first two sets 25-15 and 25-16, before Pitt-Johnstown answered with a 25-22 win to stay alive.  However, Charleston closed out the four-set victory with a 25-21 win.
 
Charleston started fast and raced out to a 14-7 first-set lead on a kill from Rachel Phalen and a pair of Pitt-Johnstown attack errors.  Maura Brehl's kill got the Mountain Cats back to within 15-11, but the Golden Eagles closed out the set on a 10-4 run, capped by Janeese Vervelde's kill and two more Pitt-Johnstown errors, in the 25-15 win.
 
Charleston held the momentum to start the second set and outscored the Mountain Cats 9-3 to build a 14-7 lead on a Carly Granger kill.  Pitt-Johnstown narrowed it to 20-15 on Caitlin Vrabel's kill and a Charleston error, but the Golden Eagles took advantage of four more Mountain Cat attack errors to close out the 25-16 victory.
 
Back-to-back kills by Tatiana Pitcher and one from Carota gave the Mountain Cats a slim 6-4 lead to begin the third set.  Kills from Jessica Sunnenberg closed out a 9-3 Charleston run that put the Golden Eagles back on top 13-9, but Pitt-Johnstown scored the next four to knot it at 13.  After Anna Johns' block and Brehl's kill helped Pitt-Johnstown regain the lead 20-17, Charleston battled back to tie it at 21, but Vrabel's kill, followed by a Carota/Vrabel block gave the Mountain Cats a 25-22 win.
 
In the fourth set, Pitt-Johnstown jumped out to a 7-2 lead on kills from Johns and Carota, before Charleston used a 12-2 run to take a 14-9 lead of its own.  Erin Carmody's service ace and two more kills from Vrabel evened it at 14.  However, the Golden Eagles regained control and never trailed on its way to the 25-21 victory.
 
Along with Carota, Brehl had 11 kills and nine digs, while Vrabel finished with nine kills, two aces, and three blocks to pace Pitt-Johnstown.  The Mountain Cats also got eight kills, four digs, and a block from Pitcher.
 
J.C. Longeville's 20 set assists and nine digs, and Morgan Yurkovich's 15 assists and three digs led the Mountain Cats.  Erin Carmody ended with a team-high 15 digs.
 
Granger's match-high 24 kills and Sunnenberg's 13 kills led Charleston, which raised its season record to 2-7.