FAIRMONT, W.Va. – Fairmont State held off a late surge by West Liberty to pick up a 3-2 victory over the Hilltoppers on Friday evening at Joe Retton Arena.
 
Fairmont State rolled to victories of 25-13 and 25-21 to take control of the match early. However, West Liberty responded with 25-17 and 25-23 wins in sets three and four to knot the match at two sets apiece.
 
In set five, Fairmont State opened up a 13-9 advantage before West Liberty reeled off three-straight points to pull within a single point at 13-12. Following a Fairmont State timeout, the Falcons scored on a service error and a West Liberty attack error to take set five by 15-12 final.
 
The win is Fairmont's seventh in a row and helped the Falcons improve to 11-12 overall and 5-5 in Mountain East Conference play.  West Liberty falls to 18-8 overall and 7-4 in the league.
 
Emma Mobley paced the Falcons in the victory with a team-high 13 kills and 26 digs. Julia DiPaola also recorded a double-double for the Falcons with 11 kills and 14 digs.
 
Statistically, Fairmont State held a 16-10 advantage in blocks and a 6-3 edge in aces. Rebecca Feeney led the Falcons around the net with nine total blocks to go with seven kills in the victory. Taylor Wisniewski also chipped in seven blocks and Emily Suppel added five.
 
Lily Keber and Kelsey Moeller paced the Fairmont State attack with 24 and 21 assists, respectively. Megan Clerico added in 20 digs in the victory.
 
West Liberty's Olivia Baumhoer recorded a match-high 20 kills to lead the Hilltoppers in the setback.
 
The Falcons will return to action on Saturday evening with a 5 p.m. matchup against nationally ranked Wheeling Jesuit University inside Joe Retton Arena.