Point Park volleyball had its first loss in conference play of the season on Friday, losing to Wheeling 3-0.

“Although we weren’t able to come out with a win, putting up that kind of fight against one of the top teams in the conference really just proved how much we have to give as a team,” outside hitter Alex Koontz said following the match.

The Pioneers had a slim lead over the Cardinals five times throughout the first set, but they were never able to get ahead by more than two points and ultimately lost 25-21.

Point Park faced a similar situation in the second set, again leading the match five separate times. The Pioneers had a 17-16 lead before Wheeling propelled itself forward, leading the set to a 25-20 final score.

The Cardinals came out stronger in the third set, pushing to a 14-9 lead before the Pioneers made a push of their own to take an eventual 19-18 lead. Wheeling would not go away and came out of this set winning 25-20, and sweeping the match overall.

“I think the best part of our game on Friday as a team was our confidence and grit,” Alex Koontz said. “We really showed up and played hard until the very end of each set.”

Koontz led the match for both teams with 12 kills.

The Pioneers combined for 37 kills and 25 attack errors, while the Cardinals had 33 kills and 19 attack errors.

The loss brings Point Park’s record to 2-1 and its overall record to 3-10.

“Heading into our next few matches, we’re really looking to minimize our unforced errors,” Koontz said. “When playing a solid team those points can be deciding factors, so our goal is to minimize those as much as possible going forward.”

The Pioneers will play their next two matches at home. Following their Tuesday match against West Liberty, the Pioneers will take on Fairmont State on Friday at 7 p.m.